


The Champion Of The Great Hunt

by Diamond_Dragon_Queen



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Smut, F/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:26:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 21,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22180033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diamond_Dragon_Queen/pseuds/Diamond_Dragon_Queen
Summary: Bounty hunting is a job. Being Mandalorian? That's a lifestyle. But for one woman, that lifestyle was ripped away from her. Her only chance to reclaim it? Compete in the Great Hunt, and hope that nobody realizes who she is until she wins.
Relationships: Female Bounty Hunter/Torian Cadera
Comments: 59
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Follows the Bounty Hunter storyline. See notes at the end of each chapter for appropriate Mando'a translations. Credit for translations belongs to http://mandoa.org/
> 
> As always, I do not own Star Wars or any of its characters aside from my OC.

“Hessath, viinir!”

“No! I can fight too!” The young girl pleaded with her father, as the enemy closed in on their camp. She didn’t really understand why they were after her family, or how they had managed to find them amongst all the creatures on Seregar, but she knew she couldn’t abandon her parents.

“Hessath, you must run. You must live, so that one day you can take skira for what has been done to our clan.” Her mother insisted gently. “I know it is difficult, but you must do this.”

Her father placed a hand on her shoulder. “Remember little one, ‘Mando’ad draar digu.’ Someday you will make these aruetiise pay for what they’ve done. Until then, never forget that you will always be Mando’ade, even if you must live like dar’manda. Do you understand me?” He placed a hand over the center of his chest. “It is what lives here that is most important.”

Tears began to well in her eyes and threatened to fall as she realized that she had no choice. She was too young to make a difference now. She understood why they were telling her to run, and that it would likely be the last time she would ever see her parents. She embraced them fiercely before turning to grab her belt with the twin blasters she had recently started using. Before she could leave, her father placed a hand on her shoulder once more, handing her something with his other hand. “Take it. Beskar’gam is hard to come by these days, and I would rather see it remain with my blood, than in the hands of aruetiise.” He handed her the pair of bracers. “Now go, hurry.”

She nodded, taking the offered armor and turns to run. She knew her determination would crumble if she looked back, so she ran, as fast as she could, toward the village closest to their camp. Her only hope was that she would be able to find a transport off of the foul jungled planet to somewhere she would be able to blend in. Blend in, and survive, until she could take her vengeance.

Her father watched her disappear into the jungle as he freed his blasters.

“Ke serim!”

Hessath’s father glanced to his wife. “No matter what, we must buy her time.” He turned to face the incoming attack; his blasters ready.

“I know.” She unholstered her own weapons. “Remember riduur, Ni kar’tayli, gar darasuum.”

He glanced at her once more, affection in his eyes. “I love you too.” His eyes hardened as he looked away.

The first shot was fired by their attackers. It went wide, missing by a wide margin. They estimated how many attackers there were, both coming up with roughly two dozen, before finally beginning to fight. They thought they might stand a chance of making it out alive, after taking down the first half-dozen enemies, but then the first shot hit her in the shoulder. She grunted and continued firing, taking down another man in return. Another shot hit him in the gut, making him stagger back a step before dropping to a knee as he continued to fire back.

The fight dragged on, and both Mandalorians were steadily gaining injuries. They were breathing hard, but their wounds were beginning to drain on them when a few of their enemies managed to circle around behind them. The girl’s mother fell first, with a shot through the back. As she crumpled to the ground, the girl’s father turned, taking down a man before two others finally brought him down as well.

They had taken out nearly three-quarters of their attackers before they had finally fallen. Those that remained were not entirely unscathed, either. As they took stock of their own dead and wounded, they didn’t bother to confirm if the child had been killed as well. It would be a mistake that would come back to haunt the surviving members of the clan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Viinir = Run  
> skira = revenge, settling scores  
> Mando'ad draar digu = A Mandalorian never forgets  
> aruetiise = traitors  
> dar'manda = a state of not being Mandalorian - not an outsider, but one who has lost his heritage, and so his identity and his soul - regarded with absolute dread by most traditional-minded Mando'ade  
> Mando'ade = Mandalorians  
> Beskar'gam = armor, made specifically out of Mandalorian iron, Beskar  
> Ke serim = Take aim  
> riduur = husband/wife  
> Ni kar'tayl, gar darasuum = I love you, or more literally 'to hold in the heart forever'


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See end of chapter notes for new Mando'a translations. Credit for translations belongs to http://mandoa.org/

~ Ten years later ~ Nar Shaddaa ~

“Ni su’cuyi, gar kyr’adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum.” Hessath whispered before she opened her gray-blue eyes. The prayer was a daily ritual for her and had been for ten years. Slowly, she pulled on her bracers. They were black, the only pieces of her armor that were that color. Her father had worn them black, to show his dedication to doing the right thing. Black meant ‘justice,’ and she refused to change them. The rest of her armor, which had been pieced together over the years, was red and gold. To outsiders, the colors would mean nothing. But to her, they showed her honor for her parents, and also her desire for vengeance. But she supposed that any Mandalorian that would see her, wouldn’t consider the meaning to her armor, thinking that she was some thug off the street.

She’d had to wait to grow into the bracers, keeping them hidden in the depths of her bag of belongings to keep them from getting stolen. The rest of her armor came and went as she had outgrown them, or now, whenever they were damaged beyond repair. It had been tough, when she had first left Seregar, to keep her bracers hidden. Beskar’gam was rare, and it was incredibly expensive. The outer rim wasn’t exactly the most civilized part of the galaxy, either. She’d made her way to one of the more populated planets on the outer rim, and found a crew to attach herself to. The Twi’lek that ran the mercenary crew that had taken her in had thought she was cute at first, a little red-headed child with a pair of blasters. But when she had shown that she actually knew how to use those blasters, he hadn’t hesitated to take her along.

She continued to hone her skills over the years that she spent with the crew, all the while trying to forget that she was dar’manda. In the end, it hadn’t made a difference. About a year ago, she had overheard her boss’s plans for her. They’d been struggling to find jobs that could pay for the entire crew, and had been scraping by to make ends meet. Her boss had thought it would be a good idea to sell her off to the Hutts. He thought that they’d be able to make some decent money off of her no matter what the Hutts wanted her for. He’d figured that the Hutts could use her as a prize fighter, but he laughed when he said that she wasn’t bad to look at either, so maybe the Hutts would want her as a sex slave. Maybe not as good as a Twi’lek, but still good.

It hadn’t taken her long to show her boss exactly what she thought of his plan. The ship was damaged in the fight, but she had been able to limp it to Nar Shaddaa before it finally gave out. She was no ship mechanic, and she certainly didn’t have the funds to fix it, so she left it for the scavengers. Unfortunately, it also meant that she was stuck on Nar Shaddaa, and she had remained there for the last year, taking odd security and mercenary jobs where she could find them.

Hessath shook her head with the memory. She wasn’t sure what had made her think back to her old crew. They’d been out of her mind for almost nine months now. She pulled on the last piece of her armor and placed her twin blasters in their holsters on her hips before turning for the door to make her way down to the cantina she was currently living above. When she first came to Nar Shaddaa, it had quickly become her favorite. The owner was human and had taken a shine to her after she had chased off some thugs that had interrupted her drink one night. At the time, she was still on the streets, and as he tried to thank her, she made him a proposition. “You got a place to stay, here?” She’d asked him. He’d been caught off guard at the question and had nodded in response. “Then how about we make a deal? You let me stay here, rent free. In return, I provide security for your…lovely…establishment so many days a week. I think it’s a win-win situation, don’t you?”

He had agreed readily, and they hammered out a contract. Hessath was careful with the wording in various places, not wanting to rope herself into something permanent. She also wanted to make sure that she left herself with enough free time to take other jobs, since her payment would be her living accommodations. And so, four days out of the week, she protected the cantina, keeping the trash out on the streets, while the remaining days she picked up contracts and made a name for herself. Before long, anyone who was anyone in the under city knew where to look her up when they needed things done right.

As she stepped out of the lift, she scanned the cantina floor for any hint of a threat. She was cautious by nature and knew that she could never take safety for granted. When she didn’t see anything threatening, she made her way to the bar to ask Tiran if any jobs had come in for her.

“No jobs today. But there was a guy looking for you earlier.”

“A guy?” Her brow rose. “That’s pretty generic, even for you, Tiran.” She said dryly. “Got any other details for me? Like, who he was, or what he wanted?”

He shrugged in response. “No idea who he was. He wouldn’t say what he wanted either. Only said that he was a friend.”

Her hands drifted closer to her blasters as she took another look around the cantina, eyes narrowed. When she still didn’t see any threats, she turned back to him. “I don’t have friends, Tiran, you know that. Any idea where this ‘friend’ went?”

He shook his head sadly. “And here I thought I was your friend. Dunno why you gotta be so mistrusting. Anyway, I told the guy that you were working security today and to come back later. Also told him that if he was looking for trouble, he better keep it outta my cantina.”

Hessath sighed. “I wouldn’t worry too much about your cantina. You know I’m more than capable of handling any trouble, if that’s what this guy is after.” She started to walk away to start her patrol before she paused, glancing back at him. “And we aren’t friends, Tiran. We have a contract, nothing more.” Her voice lowered to nearly a whisper. “Though I guess you would be the closest thing to a friend I would ever consider having.”

He grinned. “Awww. Thanks, Hessath. That’s high praise coming from you.” He shot her a wink.

She rolled her eyes as she turned around, throwing a hand over her shoulder in a wave. “Yeah, sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum. = Daily remembrance of those passed on 'I'm still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal.'  
> dar'manda = a state of not being Mandalorian - not an outsider, but one who has lost his heritage, and so his identity and his soul - regarded with absolute dread by most traditional-minded Mando'ade


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See notes at the end of the chapter for appropriate Mando'a translations. Credit for translations belongs to http://mandoa.org/
> 
> Internal thoughts are in italics. Any conversation that is in italics and underlined is spoken in a language other than basic or Mando'a.

She was extra wary during her shift. Tiran’s remark about the mystery man looking for her made her anxious. Nobody ever came looking for her without leaving a job offer behind before. It made her think back to Seregar. She sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. _‘Why do I keep thinking about the past so much today? I’ve never been one for nostalgia before.’_ The only thing that had really ever mattered to her, was saving up enough coin to get her hands on a ship so she could start tracking down the aruetiise that murdered her family. She doubted that her mystery ‘friend’ was Mandalorian, at least. She hadn’t had any encounters with anyone hunting her over the last ten years, at least, not for the Mandalorians. As far as anyone knew, her clan had been completely wiped out. She shook her head and sighed again when she spotted him walking into the cantina.

Braden had been on Nar Shaddaa for about a week now. It hadn’t taken him long to hear rumors about the young female mercenary who had seemingly taken the under city by storm over the last year. He was curious about her, so he had tracked the rumors down in the hopes that she was as good as she sounded. If she was, he would then have the monumental task of convincing her to join his crew to enter The Great Hunt. He was getting too enter the hunt himself, but he still wanted to chase the dream. And with the skills of the rest of the crew, if this merc was all she was cracked up to be, they might actually stand a chance of winning. He had finally been able to track her down to a particular cantina, but when he had stopped there earlier in the day, the bartender had been less than forthcoming. All he would say was that she would be in the cantina later, providing security. He also left him with a warning not to start any trouble in his cantina.

He had spent the hours since then thinking about how he would convince her to come with him to Hutta. That was, of course, assuming that she was as good as he’d heard. He still didn’t really have a plan for that. There was just too much that he still didn’t know. As he walked into the cantina that evening, he spotted her immediately. She was hard to miss. She had brilliant red hair pulled up into a tight bun, with a few loose strands that fell to either side of her face. A tattoo worked up the right side of her face, countering a small scar on her left cheek. Gray-blue eyes, that were hard enough to make even the toughest man think twice about brawling in the cantina as she patrolled, stared in his direction. He saw the twin blasters on her hips and his eyes were quickly drawn to her armor. The coloring was unique, as red and gold typically drew attention, and most mercenaries wanted to avoid attention. His eyes were drawn to the two pieces that were different. They were black, and there was just something about them. _‘Is that Mandalorian beskar?’_ The thought passed idly through his mind as he slowly approached her.

Hessath’s eyes narrowed as he slowly began to move toward her. He appraised him quickly. _‘Obviously older based on the lack of hair and the wrinkles, but still dangerous. He’s still agile enough to avoid causing any trouble, even with as packed as it is in here tonight. Blaster and armor look decently maintained. This must be my mystery ‘friend.’’_ As the man closed in on her, she caught Tiran staring nervously in her direction out of the corner of her eye. ‘ _Definitely the guy. Tiran’s freaking out.’_ The man was clearly worried that a fight was about to break out. She was here to prevent that, but she was notoriously short-tempered, and the blasters on her hips were definitely not for show.

He stopped a few paces away from her, clearly trying to maintain a non-threatening position. “You must be the merc I’ve heard so much about since I arrived. Hessath, right?”

Her eyebrow twitched as her hands inched closer to her blasters. “That depends on who wants to know, and why.”

He held his hands up. “Take it easy, I’m not looking for trouble. My name’s Braden. I’ve been looking for the toughest merc I can find to run point in my crew so we can enter The Great Hunt. And from what I’ve heard, you more than fit the bill.”

“The Great Hunt?” Hessath’s mind was reeling from those three words. She fought to control her facial expression as her thoughts darkened. _‘So Mandalore is looking for the greatest hunter in the galaxy, is he? That might be the ticket I need to get closer to skira.’_ She continued to consider her options as Braden went into an explanation of the hunt, misinterpreting her earlier question.

“…hunter that wins goes on to earn massive fame and fortune. So, what do you think? Think you’d be up for it?” He questioned, missing the minor change in her expression as she refocused her attention on him.

Her eyes narrowed and she took a step toward him. “You’re absolutely certain you can get me into the hunt?”

He nodded. “Completely. There will be a bit of work to do, but it’s a sure thing.”

She appraised him for another long moment before she nodded. “Alright then, you’ve got yourself a hunter. I have a few belongings to collect and some business to wrap up, then we can be on our way.”

“Take your time. I’ll head back to Hutta and get things set up.” He handed her a datapad. “This has got the information about where to go, and a shuttle pass to get you there. I’ll see you soon.” He turned to walk away, weaving through the crowded cantina just as easily as he had entered it before he disappeared out on the street.

With a sigh, she made for the bar to inform Tiran of the situation. He didn’t take it well. “But where am I gonna find someone as crazy as you to keep my cantina quiet?!?!” He wailed, overly dramatic. “Ain’t nobody stupid enough to start shit in my cantina with you around.”

She rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Tiran. There are plenty of mercs on this shit hole of a planet. I’m sure you’ll find someone in no time.”

“But what about our contract?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I made it very clear when we made that contract, that there was no set term limit. I knew my stay on Nar Shaddaa wasn’t permanent. I have other things to do in my life besides baby-sit you and your cantina. You were a means to an end. A safe place to save up credits.”

“But…” His voice was frail as he tried to argue.

She cut him off. “No buts. And don’t bother trying to play the friend card. We had that discussion earlier.” Her voice hardened with her final answer.

Tiran shrank away from her. “Fine. Get your things and get the hell out of my cantina.” He pouted as he finally gave up.

Hessath turned to go and paused. “Thanks for everything, Tiran.” She spoke softly before she walked to the lift to collect her things.

He sighed as he watched her walk away. “You’re welcome. Take care, kid.” He hated to admit it, but she had grown on him over the last several months, and not just because of their working agreement. There was just something about her that was captivating. Hell, maybe he was even a bit attracted to her. There was no denying that she had looks that could kill. He just hoped that she didn’t get herself killed with this crazy plan of hers of entering The Great Hunt. He had heard enough whispers about it that his skin had crawled just thinking about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aruetiise = traitors  
> Beskar = Mandalorian iron  
> skira = revenge, settling scores


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Internal thoughts are in italics. Any conversation that is in italics and underlined is spoken in a language other than basic or Mando'a. Any chapters with Mando'a will have appropriate translations at the end of the chapter.

She already hated Hutta. The stench was terrible, and she was certain that the muck on the planet would never leave the treads on her boots. There was no reason that any sane being would voluntarily live on the planet. At least Braden had provided her with the shuttle pass. The datapad he’d left with her went over their current set up and what they still needed. She was a bit annoyed that he had gotten her hopes up for The Great Hunt, when they didn’t even have a ship. She sighed as she walked out of the spaceport. Looking around, it was obvious that there was a turf war going on. The intermittent ring of blaster fire gave it away. Shaking her head, she made her way to the Poison Pit cantina, where she was supposed to meet Braden and the rest of her new crew. She walked in in the middle of them setting up.

“See if you can’t get that security network running, Mako.”

“Sure thing, Braden. We’ll be…hey now.” The young dark-haired woman paused, noticing Hessath’s arrival.

Braden smiled as he saw her. “Hey indeed. The main attraction is here. Team, this is the girl we’re pinning all our hopes on. Best shot I’ve ever seen and nerves of steel. She’s Great Hunt material all right. Let’s do things all official like.” He pointed to the dark-haired girl. “This is Mako, little genius I picked up on Nar Shaddaa years ago. She provides the intel and tech.”

“I hope you’re as good as the old man says.” Mako said, placing her hands on her hips.

Hessath’s brow rose at the challenge. “I could say the same.” She turned to Braden. “You sure gotta thing for picking up strays on Nar Shaddaa.”

He laughed. “I guess I do, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” He pointed to the final member of the crew. “The big bruiser is Jory. He handles the heavy lifting and provides security for our little base of operations.”

_ “Greetings. I am at your disposal. Feel free to make us all incredibly wealthy and famous.” _

Hessath nodded at the Nikto. “Pleasure to meet you.” Her expression hardened. “Let’s get down to business.”

Mako spoke up then, moving to her console and pulling up a file. “Here’s what I know so far. The Great Hunt consists of two groups. The Mandalorian elite and freelance bounty hunters sponsored by influential crime lords. There’s no time to make you Mandalorian, so we need to find you a sponsor.”

Hessath flinched internally. She certainly had no intention of advertising that she was Mandalorian, not right now, anyway. Even if her crew knew that she was Mando’ade, it wouldn’t do them any good. There was no way that she would be considered one of the elite. Not with her name. She took a deep breath as Braden spoke up.

“Nem’ro the Hutt runs this stinking little town, and I’ve got just enough pull to get you an introduction.” He paused as he thought. “Mako, scan the area for bounties. I want the most brutal, untouchable scum you can find.” He refocused on Hessath. “We need to get you situated as a big-time hunter, at least as far as Nem’ro is concerned. Mako will plant rumors of your off-world exploits, but you need to take out someone local to solidify them as fact.”

Hessath glanced at Mako, hoping that the girl could deliver. “Found something.” Mako spoke quickly. “Vexx, Corellian. Champion quick draw artist and wanted for robbing fifteen Imperial paystations.”

 _“Of all the places, why would any sane being rob an Imperial paystation?”_ Jory said, amazement seeping into his voice.

Braden grinned at the opportunity. “This Vexx is either a madman or a glory hound, and he’s obviously dangerous.”

Mako’s fingers flew across her station. “Looks like Vexx has a safe house in the middle of town. Right in the center of the madness, that’ll be fun.”

The coordinates popped up on the screen and Hessath was quick to move. “Excuse me, I have a safe house to shoot up.” She was wired. The sooner she got this Hutt to sponsor her, the sooner she would be off of the stinking mud hole of a planet, and the sooner she would be a part of The Great Hunt.

Nothing is ever as simple as it should be, though. And while this Vexx was going to be a big ticket hit for her, Braden had called out after her as she was leaving. He had suggested taking down some of the thugs on the streets, hoping to put her even more in Nem’ro’s good graces. She didn’t really care what the Hutt thought, but as soon as they started shooting at her, she shot back, easily dropping a handful of the rival Hutt’s thugs. None of them were much of a challenge, and she had to wonder about how powerful either of the Hutt’s actually were, if they couldn’t even find goons that were worth her time. After a few more short scuffles, she finally reached the safe house. She frowned when it was empty. She rifled through the belongings, finding nothing of much significance until she came across a datapad. When she tried to pull up the contents, she was left disappointed as the information was encrypted. She sighed as she tucked it into her belt, hoping that Mako was as good as Braden touted her to be.

The goons avoided her on her way back to the cantina. They had seen enough of her already to know that they were better off running from her. A satisfied smirk rose to her lips as she strode through town.

It turned out that Mako really was just as good as she had been told. She had the datapad cracked in record time and discovered that Vexx had bought a shuttle ticket off of Hutta. Hessath let out a curse as she spun and ran from the room. She was glad that the thugs on the street were afraid of her, so she didn’t have to waste valuable time clearing them out of her way as she ran for the spaceport. She shoved her way through the small crowd and found the right hangar number. She slowed her pace as she drew closer to the hangar. She peered around a corner and spotted her target. He was settling a few of his things, and it was obvious that the pilot hadn’t returned yet. She drew one of her blasters as she entered the hangar. He was completely oblivious to her until she was just a few paces away.

He raised a brow when he finally noticed her. “Never thought I’d see the day when dashing Vexx would get cornered by some brute enforcer.”

She rolled her eyes. _‘Seriously? He talks about himself in the third person? Gimme a break.’_ Her lip rose in distaste as she looked at him. “I’m not sure dashing is the word you’re looking for.”

He frowned. “But I know something you don’t. Vexx is not your run of the mill thug, oh no. Vexx is the galaxy’s greatest quick draw artist. Vexx can shoot your ears off so fast, you won’t even hear yourself scream.”

She smirked, placing her drawn blaster back in its holster. “Show me.” She taunted. He had just started to move when she already had both of her blaster’s free. She shot him in the knee before he could finish freeing his own blaster.

“Cheater!” He screamed, barely able to stand on his injured knee. He was also quite shaken. No one had ever been able to one-up him like this hunter had. For the first time, tendrils of fear seeped into his bones as Hessath shot him another smirk. He finally raised his blaster, but before he could fire, twin bolts from her blasters hit him in the chest.

She holstered her blasters and walked over to the fresh corpse. She rifled his pockets before she came up with his ID tags and a few cred-sticks. The credits, she pocketed, since he certainly wasn’t going to need them anymore. She placed the ID tags in a separate pouch on her belt as proof for the bounty before turning to head back to the cantina to let the others know about her success. She didn’t know that she would wish she had been much faster in dealing with the bounty and returning.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Internal thoughts are in italics. Any conversation that is in italics and underlined is spoken in a language other than basic or Mando'a.

She paused just inside the door to the room her new crew had been using, before drawing her blasters and stepping back into the hallway to make sure there wasn’t anyone suspicious. Seeing no one, she stepped back into the room, placing her off-hand blaster back in its holster as she stepped closer to Braden’s body. Her eyes kept flicking around the room, expecting some sort of trap, as she took a knee to check for his pulse. Finding nothing, she let out a curse before moving to check Jory as well. Finding him dead as well, she stood, realizing Mako wasn’t there. She looked around the room, eyes critical, looking for any clues as to what happened, when she heard a shocked gasp.

Understandably, Mako did not handle what she found well. As her initial shock turned to anger, she turned on Hessath. “You! You did this!”

She let out a deep sigh, not wanting to be too harsh on the girl. She tried to keep her tone gentler, but the words were still harsh. “Don’t be stupid. What possible reason would I have to turn on any of you, when you’re my tickets to The Great Hunt?”

The words seemed to shock some sense into Mako as she startled, before finally recovering. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” She moved to one of the terminals, flicking through several things before she cursed. “Dammit. Somebody’s messed with the security recording.”

“Any way you can get it back?” Hessath asked, hopeful that the little tech genius could do something.

“Maybe. Let me try a few things.” She spent a few minutes typing before she celebrated. “Yes! It’s not much, but it should be enough for us to see who we need to kill.”

Hessath chuckled lightly at her ferocity, but as the holo came to life, her chuckle died in her throat. The two figures that had confronted Braden and Jory were Mando’ade. She thought that one of them looked familiar, but she wasn’t sure until later in the recording.

_“Move and you’re dead. Now, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll back out nice and slow.”_

_“Oh, I know precisely what’s good for me. Winning The Great Hunt won’t merely be good, it will be splendid. When I win, the entire galaxy will know the name Tarro Blood. And I’ll charge extravagant fees for my services, won’t I Sedyn?”_

Hessath’s blood ran cold when she heard the second man’s name. Sedyn. As in Sedyn Kyne. He was one of the few remaining members of his clan, and one of the few survivors from the attack on Seregar. He had been a few years younger than she was now when he took part in the attack that killed her parents. At the time, she was too young to understand, but she had done enough digging over the years to find out about the events leading up to their murder. This man’s clan had betrayed her own and lied, leading to her clan’s exile and eventual destruction. She was lost in her own thoughts and missed much of the remainder of the recording, only dragging herself back to the present when Tarro Blood left the room as Sedyn killed her team.

"That scum.” Mako was shaking with her rage and grief. “He didn't even have the guts to kill them himself. He had his lackeys do it. The coward.” She took a shaky breath. “The big mouth running the show claimed he was Tarro Blood. He's a big shot, even for a Mandalorian. Rumor has it everyone united against him when he tried the last Great Hunt."

"Unbelievable, he seems like such a likable fellow." Hessath snorted, sarcasm lacing her words.

"Apparently, he crossed his fellow Mandalorian’s. No one knows exactly how or why, but everyone knows the results. He barely survived elimination from the Great Hunt last time. He was out on his back for years. Major squash, you know? If Blood's determined to win the Great Hunt, then our best bet at catching up to him is getting you into that competition. The thing is, Braden spent all of our credits getting us here. We're stuck on this stinking planet. Nem'ro is the only boss with enough clout to get you sponsored. We need him now more than ever. If no one knows Braden is…” Her voice caught for a moment. “...dead, I should still be able to get you a meeting with Nem'ro. We might still be able to pull this off. I'll need the tags from your bounty, it should be enough to pay for two burials."

"Take care of it. I'll get started with Nem'ro." Hessath tossed the ID tags to Mako. "And don't worry. We'll definitely pull this off." Hessath patted Mako on the shoulder as she walked out and headed for Nem'ro’s palace.

 _'Typical Hutt.'_ Hessath thought to herself as she walked in for her audience with Nem'ro. The Hutt had himself positioned on a dais with a pair of slaves sitting up against him. She glanced around the rest of the room to see a few of Nem'ro’s captains eyeing her as she walked up to the Hutt. A large Houk was standing nearby and decided to prove that he was as stupid as he looked by opening his mouth.

"Looky looky boss. Little woman comes to beg for mighty Nem'ro’s attention."

 _"Be polite Carnus, this bounty hunter has been sweeping the filth from my towns lovely streets.”_ The Hutt turned his gaze to Hessath. _“Excuse him, he lacks manners. You stand in the court of Nem’ro. All you see in Jigunna is under my authority. Welcome.”_

She simply returned his welcome with a nod. “Now that we’ve got the pleasantries out of the way. Let’s talk business.”

He laughed. _“Straight to the point, is it? Then I will do you the same favor. Y_ _ou want sponsorship into the Great Hunt. I can provide that. But why should I? Mako says you are a famous bounty hunter, and that hardened men run and hide just from hearing your name. But Mako says many things."_

Hessath's eye twitched. _‘So, it’s going to be like this? Two can play at this game.’_ She took a deep breath to calm her tone before she taunted the Hutt. "Mako said you were a powerful Hutt Nem'ro. Was that a lie?"

 _"A good liar always sprinkles some truth among the fabrications. You want to prove you are this fearsome manhunter? I will give you that opportunity. I have targets here on wonderful Hutta that need eliminating. No problem for one with your reported skills."_ Her eyes narrowed, not really surprised that he was going to make her work for the sponsorship, but also not trusting him in the least. _”The first head you will bring me is that of an Evocii, one of those useless, sniveling natives. You don’t have a soft spot for primitive tribesman, do you?”_

She put a hand on her hip, rolling her eyes briefly. “My soft spot is for credits, Nem’ro.”

He laughed again. _“A true mercenary. The Evocii sold us this world for trinkets. Now they take up arms against their rightful masters. It’s disgusting. One now dares to call himself Huttsbane. He raids my holdings and hides in a swamp village. Place his head on my floor. Kill Huttsbane’s followers, too, but leave their heads in the village.”_

As she turned to leave, the Houk opened his stupid mouth again. “Be careful little bounty hunter. Huttsbane once blasted into other palace. Killed a pile of captains, murdered a mighty Hutt.”

She barely spared him a glance as she responded. “Then clearly those captains weren’t very good at their jobs.” She sighed as she stepped out of Nem’ro’s palace. The risk that she was being jerked around by the Hutt was huge, and not really something she wanted to think about. Trusting a Hutt was a bad idea and a very quick way to end up with a price on your own head. She pulled her helmet back on, finally and set off to find the natives that were apparently so threatening to the Hutt.

She had no trouble finding the natives village, taking out some other indigenous life in the process. The Evocii put up some mild resistance, nothing terribly exciting. Certainly nothing that should have given the Hutts any pause. Nem’ro wasn’t paying her by the body, so as soon as the natives turned tail and ran, she let them go. There was one hut in particular though, that they seemed hesitant to abandon. She blasted through the few Evocii that refused to run, and stepped into the hut. Inside she found a shaman and a single warrior. The warrior, she presumed, was Huttsbane.

The warrior was quick to speak up in disgust. “Nem’ro finally found someone with no morals to destroy my village. Are you proud of yourself, filthy murderer! Will you butcher all the women and children as well?”

Hessath’s tone was dark. “Nobody else needs to die, except you, Huttsbane.”

The shaman had stepped closer, a hand raised to try to pacify them both. “There is no reason to kill Huttsbane.”

She raised her second blaster in his direction. “My contract says otherwise.”

The shaman frowned. “The Hutts would slaughter us like criminals, when it is they who have taken what is not theirs”

Huttsbane sneered at her. “Yes. This planet was home to Evocii long before the Hutts came.”

She rolled her eyes, the gesture hidden from the Evocii by her helmet. “My heart bleeds for you, really.” Her tone was filled with sarcasm. “But if you didn’t want the Hutts to come, maybe you shouldn’t have made any kind of deal with them in the first place.”

The shaman pleaded with her. “You are a warrior. You must understand why we fight for our birthright.”

Her tone darkened. “I understand, and that’s why I allowed anyone who retreated to live. But that doesn’t change what’s going to happen in this hut right now.”

“You’re wasting your breath.” Huttsbane barked at the shaman. “This is just more outsider scum.”

“My contract is my word, and my word is my honor.” She growled. “On my honor, I can’t leave this hut without Huttsbane’s head.” She tilted her head toward the shaman. “If you are so determined to save your people, then I suggest you withdraw and allow us to settle things. And then when I’m done, as long as no one stands in my way, I’ll leave without further incident.”

The shaman hesitated, glancing between her and Huttsbane. She could see the debate going through his head. After a long moment, he held up both hands and bowed his head. “I will withdraw.” Huttsbane started to protest, but the shaman cut him off. “I can tell that we are no match for you. It makes little sense to throw more lives away needlessly. Forgive me, Huttsbane, but I must save as many of our people as I can.” He backed away a step, keeping his hands up and edged around Hessath, backing out of the hut.

As soon as the shaman was gone, Huttsbane activated his vibroblade and swung. It hit her against one of her bracers, the impact jarring her arm slightly, but otherwise bouncing off. She swung her second blaster over to add its aim to the first as she shook her head. “That was a bad idea. If Beskar can hold up to a lightsaber, what good do you think your vibroblade will do?” She didn’t give him a chance to answer before she squeezed the triggers. She was already holstering both blasters as he hit the ground. She pulled a cortosis blade from a sheath on her calf and severed the head from his body, pulling a cloth from the bed nearby to wrap it up. She kept her main hand hovering over her blaster as she exited the hut. Several Evocii were gathered, wearing faces ranging from rage to grief, but none stood in her way as she exited the village.


	6. We're getting back into business!!!

Hey Everyone! So, big news. I finally finished my main project, and have been moving back into my SWTOR fics. I compiled all that I had written previously for this fic, and realized just how much dialogue was missing and, in reality, just how short I had made this story. I have started to go back to edit the ever-living-daylights out of the story. If you have read this story prior to 8/29/20, then please go back and re-read the first few chapters. I have re-posted them with edited/additional content. So far, I am much happier with what is now posted, and I hope you enjoy it a bit more than before.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone! Just wanted to repeat the announcement as a reminder. I finally finished my main project, and have been moving back into my SWTOR fics. I compiled all that I had written previously for this fic, and realized just how much dialogue was missing and, in reality, just how short I had made this story. I have started to go back to edit the ever-living-daylights out of the story. If you have read this story prior to 8/29/20, then please go back and re-read the first few chapters. I have re-posted them with edited/additional content. So far, I am much happier with what is now posted, and I hope you enjoy it a bit more than before.
> 
> Internal thoughts are in italics. Any conversation that is in italics and underlined is spoken in a language other than basic or Mando'a.

The smell that the head put off attracted a few scavengers as she traveled back to Jigunna, but they were quickly put down with shot from her blaster. Eventually, the creatures stopped coming, focusing on the trail of dead she left behind her. She pulled her helmet off as she stopped before Nem’ro, tossing the head to the floor before him. “One head. As requested.”

The Houk opened his mouth yet again. “Looky, boss. The little bounty hunter returns. She smell like dead savage.”

Nem’ro eyed the head for a long moment before he nodded. _“Then it’s true, you killed the famed Huttsbane. Tell me of your hunt.”_

She raised a brow. “I’ve had better. The Evocii are nothing, so I was bored the entire hunt.”

The Hutt scoffed. _“So simple was it? One time might be luck. Your next target will not be so easy to reach, though he shouldn’t put up much fight when you find him.”_ He narrowed his eyes at her. _“You have noticed the shooting?”_ At her nod, he continued, his voice filling with anger. _“The upstart Fa’athra lays claim to things that are mine. He moves against my factories, sends his scum to make trouble in Jigunna. Some fools think Fa’athra is becoming a stronger Hutt than Nem’ro. One is my ex-accountant, Yalt. Yalt now works for Fa’athra at the factory in the Rust Yards. The accountant must die for his betrayal.”_

She crossed her arms. “Let me guess. You want his head on your floor?”

He chuckled. _“You know me so well. But the head is not for me. After the accountant is dead, take his head to the cantina. Yalt’s wife works there. She encouraged his disloyalty to me. Give Yalt’s head to her.”_

She frowned. “Harassing people isn’t normally in my line of work.”

He leaned forward. _“If you’re going to the Great Hunt, you must be willing to do anything, little girl. Fa’athra protects Yalt behind a blast-proof security door, but someone smart like you will find a way in. Go. Show Yalt what it means to cross Nem’ro.”_

Hessath clenched her jaw at how easily the Hutt dismissed her. As if she were a child that he was done entertaining. Her fingers twitched, itching to reach for her blasters as she turned on her heel and stormed away. Her holo dinged as she stepped out of the palace. Mako was quick to start talking as soon as she appeared. “Hey, girl. I’ve got some information for you.”

Hessath glanced around to make sure she was alone before she nodded. “How are you holding up?”

Mako sighed. “Better, now that I’ve got a lead. The man who killed Braden really was Tarro Blood, a big shot from Alderaan. After he washed out of the last Great Hunt, Tarro spent years building up support with the Mandalorians. The Great Hunt is a Mandalorian tradition. Entry rules are different for their people. Since Tarro’s a Mandalorian, he competes with them to enter. Now, he’s buying off the other Mandalorians so they don’t gang up on him again.”

Hessath’s lip pulled up in a grimace. “A coward and a cheat. This scum dies.”

Mako shot her a smile. “That’s what I like to hear. For now, concentrate on impressing Nem’ro. His sponsorship is your only chance of getting close to Tarro Blood.”

She nodded. “On it.”

Mako’s voice lowered as she frowned. “And one more thing. While I was out taking care of…saying goodbye to Braden and Jory. I caught someone following me. He was dressed like some offworld tribesman. Tall. Wore a white bone mask, like a death’s head. He could tell I spotted him and left me alone after that, so just keep your eyes open out there. Now go show that Hutt who the best hunter in the galaxy is.”

“Watch yourself, Mako. We don’t know if Blood’s got any more cronies hanging around. I don’t need anything happening to you, too.” She cut the holo and returned it to her belt. _‘It sounded like Mako was describing a Kaleesh. You don’t see them too often. But who was he working for?’_ She let out a sigh before pulling her helmet back on and setting off for the Rust Yards. Things were getting more and more dangerous on Hutta, and a small part of her was wishing she hadn’t left Nar Shaddaa. But as long as she still had a chance of making it into The Great Hunt, she had to keep pushing forward.

When she got to the Rust Yards, she pulled up short, eyes narrowing. There were droids everywhere, and while most of them looked like they’d make for easy scrap metal, there were a handful of serious battle droids mixed in. _‘It won’t do me any good to stop out in the open. I’m good, but that’s an awful lot of droids.’_ She pulled out a pair of electrobinoculars and got a better look at the factory buildings. At the base, there were groups of humanoid guards. She couldn’t tell what species they were, but the fact that they had sentient guards in addition to the droids made her brow furrow. _‘There’s the door. I’m going to have to keep moving while I shoot, because as soon as they know I’m there, they’re going to swarm me.’_ She put the binoculars away and checked the pouches on her belt. _‘Three detonators, a dozen toxic darts, flamethrower’s at half capacity. This will be fun.’_

She freed her blasters and stepped into the Rust Yards. The ground she had to cover was probably about a half a kilometer, but that distance quickly grew much longer as the security forces descended on her. The junk droids went down easily, but a few of them started coming at her carrying mining explosives, which forced her to scramble away whenever one of them went down. The explosions drew more droids, which in turn brought more explosions. Several of the sentient guards had pulled away from the building and were starting to join the fray as well. She exhausted her dart supply on the guards as they approached. She had a moment where she was starting to get overwhelmed, so she leaned back and kicked on her jetpack as she tossed a thermal detonator into the growing crowd of droids. As she hit the ground, she took off running for the factory, blasters still up and firing at anything coming her way.

It took her nearly an hour to cross the distance to the factory, and she was out of toxic darts, thermal detonators and flamethrower fuel. The cells for her blasters were running low, and she knew she only had one more set in her belt. She was surprised that she wasn’t sloshing in her armor, with the amount of sweat running down her body. As she entered the factory finally, she was surprised to see that most of the guards were already gone. _‘Probably came out to join the fray with as much racket as I created.’_ She set out through the factory, searching for Nem’ro’s wayward accountant.

It took her almost an hour to comb through the factory before she found the blast-proof door that Nem’ro had described. She fiddled with the control panel for a few minutes before she gave up and just shot the damned thing. The door creaked open, stopping about halfway. She slid inside, and quickly spotted the accountant. He retreated to the corner of the room farthest away from her. A few guard droids stood in her way, which she quickly dismantled.

Yalt cowered as she stepped closer. “Oh no, oh no, no, no….I…I don’t want to die! I never meant to betray Nem’ro, but Fa’athra offered me so many credits. Then Fa’athra didn’t pay me, he locked me up. Threatened to kill my wife if I didn’t work my accounting magic for him. I was so stupid. Please. Please, please spare me. I’ll do anything!”

Her brow rose. “You’re asking me to go back on a contract. What could you possibly do that would be worth the risk?”

“Y-you don’t have to kill me!” He put his hands up. “I’ll just go, get my wife, and leave the planet. I’ll crash Fa’athra’s accounts before I go! Ruining Fa’athra’s finances will make Nem’ro so happy that he won’t care what happened to me.”

She shook one of her blasters back and forth in a tutting motion. “I’m still not hearing what I get out of this.”

He paled. “I-I can only do certain things with Fa’athra’s assets, but there is a small expense account. I-I-I could transfer that to you.”

She was skeptical. “Won’t Fa’athra be able to track the account?”

He pulled out a datapad shakily. “N-no, I’ll make sure it can’t be tracked.” He tapped a few things before holding out the datapad to her. “Just enter your info here.” She typed the info in and passed it back to him. He turned to the main terminal in the room, hands moving across the controls. After a few moments he turned back to her “A-all right. That’s credits into your account and the other accounts wiped out. Fa’athra just lost thousands of credits and it will be obvious on the banking records. Nem’ro will be pleased. C-can I go?”

She considered him for a long moment. Her hands were tied, though, and if she wanted into The Great Hunt, she had no choice. “You got in over your head. Now you’re going to lose it.” He tried to turn and run, but her aim was faster, and with a single shot, Yalt fell to the floor. The least she could do for someone as pathetic as him, was make it quick. She pulled out one of her cortosis blades and removed his head.

There were still a few droids milling about when she exited the factory, but they were much easier to avoid, and she was able to escape the Rust Yards without much incident. Just like before, when she had returned with Huttsbane’s head, a few scavengers were drawn in by the smell of the head, but quickly dispersed after a few shots with her blaster. She returned to Jigunna, detouring to the cantina, as requested by Nem’ro. An older woman started to greet her when she paused, seeing the head in Hessath’s hand. After a moment, she realized that it was the head of her husband, and let out a horrified wail, before running from the cantina, screaming.

She grimaced as the woman ran. She tossed the head in the garbage before stepping to the bar for a drink. The bartender shot her a dirty look. She shrugged as she pulled her helmet off and set it next to her. “Sorry bout the mess, but you know how Hutts get. One Corellian whiskey, and then I’ll be gone.” He slammed the drink down in front of her and she shot him a wry look before tossing the drink back. The burn was familiar and helped wash the vile taste from her mouth from what she had just done. She set the glass down before putting her helmet back on and tossing down the credits for the drink, plus a few extra to help placate the bartender. She saw his expression soften a bit at the credits before she turned to head back to Nem’ro’s palace.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone! Just wanted to repeat the reminder one last time. I have started to go back to edit the ever-living-daylights out of the story. If you have read this story prior to 8/29/20, then please go back and re-read the first few chapters. I have re-posted them with edited/additional content. So far, I am much happier with what is now posted, and I hope you enjoy it a bit more than before.
> 
> Internal thoughts are in italics. Any conversation that is in italics and underlined is spoken in a language other than basic or Mando'a.

She was nearly back to Nem’ro when she was stopped by a Rodian. _“Here is the fraud. Useless weakling Mako pretends is bounty hunter.”_

Hessath’s hands hovered over her blasters. “That gives you three seconds to get out of my way.”

The Rodian scoffed. _“Think you scare me? You are nothing. Tarro Blood doesn’t want you in Great Hunt.”_ Hessath’s expression darkened at the mention of the Mandalorian. _“Smart person would take the hint. You’re not smart.”_

“One.” She growled out the word.

The Rodian ignored her and just continued to rant. _“I hear all about how your weak master is butchered. Now you have no team, no support. Tarro Blood tells me I take you out, he makes sure I get in Great Hunt. Even if I have to let Blood win, just being in Great Hunt is big honor.”_

“Two.” Hessath hissed, fighting against the anger shaking through her body.

The Rodian laughed. _“I think after I go in Great Hunt, I come back and have statue made of me stepping on your head. That sponsorship is mine.”_

“Three.” She spat, drawing her blasters smoothly and firing six shots. Overkill, sure. But it helped calm her fury to put a few extra holes in the Rodian. She stepped over the Rodian’s remains and continued in to see Nem’ro.

Nem’ro laughed as she stood before him once more. _“There she is. My spies say that Yalt’s wife left town as if all the Akk dogs on Hutta were after her. I also saw that you crashed Fa’athra’s accounts. Above and beyond, bounty hunter. Truly powerful.”_

“If you’re so impressed with me, then put me in The Great Hunt, Nem’ro.” She tried to keep her tone even, not showing just how eager she was to have his sponsorship.

 _“Soon, soon, my impatient bounty hunter.”_ She scowled at his reluctance. _“I have one more simple task for you. Something I need an outsider for. The traitor in my house is my own beastmaster. He plots against me and thinks I do not know. Go to the beast pits and pull the alarm switch. When he comes, kill him.”_

She clenched her jaw as the feeling of being jerked around grew stronger. “I’ll take care of your little problem Nem’ro, but then I expect my sponsorship. No more games.” She growled the words at him.

_ “Yes, yes. Fight for me and earn many rewards. Now go.” _

She slammed her helmet back on her head and left the main hall before taking the lift that led down to the beast pits. As she stepped into the pit, she could hear the growls and snarls of the different beasts in their respective pens. The bones of the fallen littered the pit and snapped beneath her boots. The Hutts sick fascination with keeping beasts for sport never made sense to her. Perhaps it was her Mandalorian upbringing. The only honorable kill of such creatures was out in the wilds, when you were entering their territory. Not the other way around. Her lip curled in disgust as she approached the alarm switch. As she threw it, a hulking beast of a human appeared on the other side of the closest grate.

He laughed. “You call me just like Nem’ro said you would. So stupid.” Anger filled her veins. She had known that it was a set up, but she’d had no choice but to follow along with the stinking Hutt and his games. “Now I kill you and Nem’ro give me big reward.”

She growled at him. “Don’t count that reward just yet.”

“You think I not prepared? So stupid.” He laughed again. “Free the beasts!”

A holo image appeared in the center of the pit. Nem’ro was laughing as he watched her. The first of the grates opened and a handful of K'lor'slugs came for her. They were fairly easy creatures to defeat and the smaller ones fell with a single shot. The largest of the group required a few more shots, but still fell before her easily. Two grates opened almost immediately. A pair of Akk dogs were quick to close in on her and fell to a pair of blaster bolts. She jumped to the side as a shadow fell over her, rolling to a crouch as the Wraid that had also been released moved to close in on her once more. She refused to humor the filthy Hutt that had put her in this situation and took it down with one of her smaller missiles. Finally, the last pair of grates opened, sending out a handful of Vrblthers and a Gundark. She repeated the process and killed every last one of the beasts.

The beastmaster was enraged by the loss of all of his pets and finally raised the grate that had been protecting him. As he screamed in rage and raised his vibrosword, she took aim and placed a single shot between his eyes, dropping him. The holo behind her disappeared as she slammed her blasters back in their holsters and stormed to the lift that would take her back to the main floor of the palace. She was done. Either the Hutt was going to sponsor her, or she was going to put a pair of bolts between his eyes, but either way, she was done running around for the slimy Hutt.

When she stepped into the main hall, he was quick to speak. _“Mighty hunter! You killed terrible beasts from Hutta and beyond. And the beastmaster too!”_ At the scowl on her face he shrugged. “ _Deception was the only way I could eliminate my beastmaster without upsetting things here.”_

“I’ve played your games long enough, Nem’ro.” She growled the words, her hands dropping to hover over her blasters. “Give. Me. My. Sponsorship.”

His tone sobered. _“I did not expect you to survive the beast pits. Carnus said you would prevail, but….what’s done is done.”_ As her hands moved closer to her blasters, he continued. _“A representative of the Great Hunt will be here soon. When he arrives, you would merely have to hand him my sponsorship token to enter the Great Hunt. Unfortunately, I already gave the token to someone else.”_

Her blasters were out and aimed at the Hutt within seconds. “If you don’t have the token anymore, what do I need you for?” She hissed, fingers hovering over the triggers as everyone else in the room froze.

He laughed. _“Someone fierce and deadly on Hutta has the token. If you want it so badly, find him and take it. I win either way, as the fiercest hunter on Hutta will have the token and spread the name of Nem’ro. You should hurry if you want to return by the time the representative arrives.”_

It took every ounce of willpower Hessath possessed to not shoot the Hutt and everyone else there. She tsked before holstering her blasters and spinning on her heel to storm out of the hall. Her trigger fingers were twitching, she walked out and ran into Mako.

"Hey girl, we've been had. Nem'ro’s already sponsored someone else for the Great Hunt."

"Tell me something I don't know Mako." Hessath growled, her mood already foul from dealing with Nem’ro.

"I know who got Nem'ro’s token, and how to find him. I'll tell you everything, but I've got a price."

Hessath’s eyes narrowed when she heard this. _‘And here we go. Everyone has a price. I should have known better than to trust anyone. It’s too bad, because I actually liked her.’_

Oblivious to the thoughts running through Hessath’s mind, Mako rambled on. "Braden taught me how to fight, and you know I'm great with information. Take me with you. On this hunt and whatever comes after."

Hessath’s brows rose. _‘That’s it? That’s all she wants?’_ She let out a relieved breath. _‘Maybe I can trust her after all.’_ She could see Mako starting to form an argument for why she should be able to come when Hessath very simply said. "Sure thing, it'll be great."

"I'm good with a blaster, and...and...wait, what? Did you just say yes?” She squealed with excitement and relief. “Thank you. I want to be there when we find Braden’s killer. So, let’s go find this hunter with the token."

“You gonna tell me who I’m shooting? Or do you want me to guess?” Hessath put a hand on her hip, expectant.

“Oh! Right. The hunter we’re after is named Rarsk. He’s a Trandoshan and serious bad news. Burned a whole village alive on Dantooine. I intercepted a message between Rarsk and the bone-faced freak who was following me. Rarsk is collecting on a bounty Fa’athra the Hutt is holding for him. A Republic scientist or something. All we have to do is break into Fa’athra’s ridiculously well-guarded palace in the swamp, find the scientist ourselves, and set a trap for Rarsk.”

“Sounds like fun. Let’s get moving. Just follow my lead, alright?”

Mako nodded. “Right behind you, boss.”

Hessath snorted as they turned to leave. She replaced her helmet and led the way through the swamps to the coordinates that Mako had provided. As they traveled, Mako told her that some of Fa’athra’s captains had bounties on them as well. As short on funds as they were, they decided to collect as many of the bounties as they could to set themselves up for the Great Hunt. Hessath pulled up just before the walls of Fa’athra’s palace, freeing her blasters. She glanced at Mako and, at the younger woman’s nod, slipped inside. Security was not as tight as she had thought it would be, and they were able to slip in fairly close to the palace without being spotted.

She was glad she had restocked her supply of toxic darts, because she used those to silence the guards at the palace entrance without raising the alarm. As they fell, the pair slipped inside, edging their way into the palace proper. They were in far enough now, that it didn’t matter if they caused a commotion. Hessath easily switched back to her blasters and was glad she did when they turned a corner and ran right into one of Fa’athra’s captains. Without a second thought, she squeezed the triggers, taking the captain by surprise and dropping him. They moved quicker now, as they heard cries of alarm ring through the palace. They ducked in and out of rooms, disappointed when they didn’t find the target they were looking for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter had a much shorter break than I have ever had previously, but I wanted to share the news. I have finally finished editing through the end of Dromund Kaas. And let me say, this thing is going to be a monster when it's compete. We're talking like 40 pages, just for the first two planets, folks. And it's not just the missing dialogue. It's the amount of exposition that I just glossed over and summarized the first time through when I started writing it up.


	9. Chapter 9

After a long search, they finally found the target they were looking for. The Republic scientist was a woman. Hessath took it in stride, while Mako paused for a moment, a bit shocked that the bounty was a woman. As Hessath confirmed the woman’s identity, the woman flinched away. “Stay back. I’ve got a-a…well, I guess I don’t have much of anything. Please, just tell me why I’m being held here.”

Mako had finally recovered. “She fits the target description. I guess I didn’t really stop to consider that the target was a woman though. Now I guess we just wait for Rarsk to show.” She turned to the target. “Short version, lady. There’s a bounty hunter coming to take you to the Empire. We want to kill this bounty hunter, so it’s your lucky day. Just sit quietly and be bait-like.”

“We’re running out of time. Let’s get that ambush set up, Mako.”

The woman started to plead. “I’m not cut out for this. Please, let me go. I’ll do anything…”

Hessath spun around, a blaster leveled at her. “If you don’t quiet down, I’ll send you to the Empire in a box. The bait stays quiet, got it?”

As the woman shrank back, Mako sucked in a breath. “Too late, boss.”

Hessath turned blasters still raised, as the Trandoshan entered the room with his own weapon drawn. _“Hello soft things. I see many Fa’athra servants are dead. Give me scientist female, and you won’t join them.”_

Hessath’s lips pulled into a feral smile. “That’s funny. The only one who will be joining the dead grunts, is you.”

Rarsk hissed at her. _“You are stupid, even for soft things. Rarsk will tear out your heart and feed it to a tiny rodent. Scorekeeper, watch me.”_

He fired as he finished his hissed words. Hessath lifted her arm up to catch the bolt on her off-hand bracer. As it ricocheted off the beskar, she brought her main hand blaster to bear, shooting the blaster from the Trandoshan’s hand. It clattered to the floor as he let out a hiss of pain. Before she could fire again, he tackled her, knocking her blasters out of her hands. They skittered across the floor, out of reach. In her peripheral, she caught Mako holding her own blaster ready, but hesitating to fire out of concern for Hessath. The Trandoshan’s claws scraped across her beskar before finding purchase farther up her arm in her lower quality gear. The claws sank through the weaker armor like a vibroknife through nerf butter, drawing a hiss of pain from her lips as they dug into her flesh.

She ignored the burn of his claws in her arms as she brought her own hands up against his throat, stopping his jaws from clamping down on her. She pulled away just enough to flick the control for her flamethrower on, forcing the Trandoshan to release her as flames licked at his hide. As she shut it off, she reached for her cortosis blades, taking each of them in a reverse grip. He closed in on her again, and she met one of his clawed hands with her blade. He hissed as the blade dug into his flesh, but was quick to strike again. He was faster than she was, and got underneath her guard, knocking her down to the floor once more, pinning her legs with his feet and knocking the blades from her hands. As they scrabbled back and forth, she reached out with one hand, fingertips brushing against the handle of one of her blades. As she reached, she kept his maw at bay from closing on her with her other arm. He dug his claws into her once more and she stretched as far as she could, finally pulling the handle into her fingers. With a yell, she brought the blade to bear, lodging it into the Trandoshan’s skull. He dropped onto her, lifeless.

She lay there for a moment, breathing hard before she finally rolled the body off of her. She climbed to her feet, a bit shakily at first before she regained her footing. She wrenched her blade free from Rarsk’s skull, wiping the blade off on his hide before returning it to its place. She silently collected her other blade and her scattered blasters before turning to face Mako and the scientist.

The scientist was shaking. “Th-that was brutal. But I owe you my thanks. But…what happens now?”

Hessath tilted her head. “Well, you do have a pretty nice bounty on your head.”

Mako gaped at her. “Are you serious? We aren’t actually collecting that, right?”

Hessath shrugged. “We’re bounty hunters, Mako, and she has a bounty on her head. Besides, you said yourself that we needed the credits.”

“But not like this. You know what the Empire will do to her.”

Hessath growled at her. “Feel free to walk away at any time, Mako. You want to make it through the Great Hunt? This is what it’s going to take at first. Once we win, we’ll be well enough off that we can be picky, but we’re not in a position right now to pick and choose the bounties that we collect on.”

Mako took a step back, Hessath’s words like a slap to the face. “I…I…sorry. I guess you’re right.” She glanced at the scientist.

“It gets easier if you don’t think about them as a person, Mako. Think of them just as targets. It sounds terrible, but it’s just the way it is for now. Also, if it helps, consider this. We’re being much kinder than a lot of others in our line of work would be. We can control how painful or painless their collection is. What the Empire does from there, is no longer our concern.”

Mako nodded, looking away. “I guess.”

Hessath frowned, before shaking her head lightly. “Time to go, lady.” She pulled out her pair of binders and clamped them around the woman’s wrists. The woman started to sob as Hessath started to push her in front of her. Knowing that the woman would only bring attention to them as they tried to slip out of Fa’athra’s palace, Hessath gave her one last ultimatum. “Quiet down, or like I said earlier, I’ll ship you to the Empire in a box.”

The woman just sobbed harder, but finally managed a few words. “P-please. If you won’t let me go, then just kill me. I k-know h-how the Empire interrogates their p-prisoners.”

Hessath just sighed. “Mako, let me see that bounty posting.” Frowning, Mako handed it over. She skimmed the contents. At the bottom of the listing, it listed two amounts. One, just to have proof that the woman had been eliminated. The second was much higher, and it was for the woman to be brought in alive, as she was far more valuable to the Empire alive. But clearly, they didn’t care, as long as she didn’t make it back to the Republic. Hessath sighed again. “Fine. Have it your way. I’ll make it quick.” She pulled one of her blasters up and took aim, right between the woman’s eyes. Somehow, despite the woman’s terror, she didn’t move. Instead, she closed her eyes as Hessath pulled the trigger. As she dropped, Hessath holstered her blaster, before moving to remove the binders.

She picked up the datapad and took a bioscan. “Here.” She handed the datapad back to Mako. “Send this to the Empire.” Mako continued to frown at her as she took the datapad back and started typing. She simply nodded when it was done, refusing to speak to Hessath for the time being. “Let’s get back to Nem’ro. The Great Hunt representative is probably there already.”

They were able to slip out of the palace with little effort and quickly made their way back to Jigunna. Hessath ignored the blood that was running down the inside of her arms from her fight with Rarsk, knowing that as soon as she got someplace cleaner, she would need to take care of the wounds. She was pulling off her helmet as they entered the main hall, when they caught the tail end of the conversation between Nem’ro and another.

“Very well, Nem’ro. When the Trandoshan returns I shall….” He caught sight of her. “Ah. I see we have a new player in the game after all.”

Mako gasped as she caught sight of him. “That’s the bone-faced freak that followed me! Get him!” She raised her blaster. Hessath held up a hand.

Nem’ro laughed. _“Ha! Little Mako, so fiery!”_

The Kaleesh stepped forward. “Hunter, allow me to apologize for spooking your young friend.”

She glanced back at Mako. “Calm down a sec. Let’s see what’s what.”

The Kaleesh turned his focus to Mako. “I regret that I startled you, young woman. I was pursuing another quarry when we crossed paths. I am Grataa. It is my honor to represent the Great Hunt. I have been investigating possible malfeasance by one Tarro Blood.”

Hessath snorted. “That’s one way to put murdering my team.”

He nodded sadly. “While dishonorable, what was done to your team was not technically against the rules. Unless he attacks another competitor, he cannot be punished. I shall continue to closely monitor Tarro Blood’s activities. If he breaks the Great Hunt’s rules, he will pay for it. I had remained here to give the Trandoshan instructions for the Great Hunt, but it seems those instructions belong to you now. You have proven yourself worthy of the Great Hunt. But the competition is only beginning. From here, you must go to Dromund Kaas. These are your shuttle passes.” He handed them to her slowly. “When you arrive on Dromund Kaas, seek the Huntmaster in the Mandalorian enclave. He will answer all of your questions about the Great Hunt.”

“Thanks. Let’s go, Mako.” They turned to head to the spaceport. They had just stepped outside on Hutta for, what Hessath hoped, was the last time when Mako finally spoke again.

“I wish Braden could see this. At least now we can make his killer pay.”

“Tarro Blood will get what’s coming to him, Mako. That’s a promise.”

Mako shot her a small smile. “Thanks.” She hesitated for a moment before she continued, her voice quieter. “About earlier, with the bounty. I…I’m sorry I reacted the way that I did. You’re right. I…I’ll try to not let it get to me so much from now on.”

Hessath let out a quiet sigh as they continued walking. “You don’t need to change who you are, Mako. When it comes down to it, there will probably be a lot of hunts that I go on alone, just because it’s safer that way. You can still be part of a bounty hunting crew without being the one needing to get your hands dirty.”

Mako thought about her words as they arrived at the spaceport. They made for the bay that held their shuttle. It wasn’t until they had finally settled into their seats that she spoke again. “You really are the best, aren’t you?”

Hessath snorted. “I try. I’ve been at this a while now. Once we get to Dromund Kaas, we’ll need to resupply.” She glanced at her arms. “And probably visit a medical droid.” They both released a chuckle then as they sat back as the shuttle took off.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a friendly reminder that internal thoughts are in italics, while spoken word in a language other than Basic or Mando'a are in italics and underlined.

It took a couple days to reach Dromund Kaas, and by the time they had arrived, Hessath’s arms were aching and she could feel a light sheen of sweat covering her face. As the shuttle finally landed and they stood to leave, she staggered with her first steps. Mako wrapped an arm around her waist and looked at her with concern. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head to clear it. Her voice was a bit rough. “I’ll be fine. Just wish we’d had time to stop at a med droid before we took off.”

“Alright. Just lean on me if you need to. A med droid is our first stop.”

Hessath pulled away from Mako. “Nothing personal Mako, but I can’t afford to have anyone see me this weak right now.” She shivered. “I’ll be fine.” Gritting her teeth, she focused on every step, forcing her body to walk just as steady as she would when she was healthy. They made it through the customs terminal without issue. With a quiet word, Mako asked one of the Imperials about a med droid. She guided Hessath to one that was, thankfully, located inside the spaceport.

As soon as they were taken in a room, Hessath peeled out of her armor, just dropping it on the floor, which she normally hated doing. Mako gasped when she saw Hessath’s arms. They were riddled with claw marks, and most of them were an angry red and draining. Hessath propped herself on the medical bed and slumped back, closing her eyes as she let her breathing resume the fevered pace that she had been controlling as they had walked. She didn’t even open her eyes when the medical droid entered. It took her vitals, making some exclamation at her fever before it began gathering supplies. She didn’t flinch when the first stim hit her arm, and by the last, her breathing was finally starting to ease a bit. The droid cleaned the wounds and applied kolto before wrapping her arms. It finished its treatment with an injection of kolto. It assured Mako that she would be fine, but that she would require rest for a few days.

By then, Hessath was cracking her eyes open. “Don’t have time to rest. The Kolto and drugs still gonna do their job?” Reluctantly, the droid confirmed that they would. Hessath rolled off of the bed and started pulling her gear back on. When she was finished, they paid the droid what was required, and left.

On the way to the Mandalorian enclave, they stopped at a few vendors in the center of Kaas City. They needed to restock supplies, but also get some armor upgrades to replace the damaged pieces from her fight with Rarsk. Since they were on Dromund Kaas, the prices were ridiculous, and nearly drained the funds that they had gotten from the bounty on the scientist. Mako once again told her that she had made the right call. When they finally had no further stops to make, they set their sights on the enclave.

In truth, Hessath had really been trying to put of getting to the enclave for as long as possible. She was torn between the nerves she had being surrounded by so many Mando'ade and her desire to keep that portion of her past hidden from Mako. She still didn't trust Mako fully, so she elected to maintain as cool of an exterior as possible while she sought her contact, Crysta Markon.

Their contact was quite interesting. For starters, you didn’t see many women around that wore their hair as a mohawk, but she did, and pulled it off quite well. Her ears were filled with piercings. Hessath smirked as she suspected that there were others located in other places. She was standing there, chatting with one of the Mandalorians inside the enclave. "...and then I told him 'You think that’s cold, you should see what I did to the Gamorrean.' I never saw a Rodian run so fast in my...Oh, sorry sweetie, didn't see you standing there. What can I do for you?"

Hessath’s smirk instantly turned into a frown at being called sweetie. She absolutely hated it when people spoke to her as if she were helpless.

"We are here for the Great Hunt. We have been sponsored by Nem'ro the Hutt." Mako answered before Hessath could pull her thoughts together.

“An all-girls hunter team? Good for you. How long you two been partners?” Crysta asked. Hessath could tell she was genuinely curious.

Hessath snorted. “Feels like Mako’s always been there to back me up.” She had kept her helmet on inside the enclave, at least feeling a bit safer that way.

"Fantastic. It’s rare to see that kind of solidarity in our business, you know? Now, you probably ain't gonna like what I've got to tell you. But there's nothing I can do about it, understand? There’s one spot left in the Great Hunt, and over three dozen hunters who got sponsorships."

"That's okay, I brought over three dozen rounds of ammo." Hessath responded with a feral grin.

"I bet you did.” Crysta responded, dryly. “I hope you can back up that kind of talk. The Huntmaster himself is going to explain how we're gonna sort things out. Head into the main room and show some respect. When the Huntmaster’s done talking come back out here. I'll be handling you from here out.”

They headed into the main room, as Crysta had instructed them. Inside, they found the rest of the hunters standing around talking. There were many that simply stood off by themselves, but there were others that had clearly met before and were talking about past hunts and their greatest bounties. A few groups spared Hessath and Mako a glance, but most of them ignored their presence. Before too long, a Wookiee entered the room, followed closely by a Mandalorian and made for the front of the room.

The Mandalorian called for quiet. “Quiet! Quiet you dogs! The Huntmaster is about to speak. Pay attention and show some respect, for once in your lives.”

The Wookiee Huntmaster stepped forward. _“The Great Hunt is upon us. Many will hunt. Many will die. All will win glory and honor. Today, we have too many hunters. All must compete. Only one joins the Great Hunt.”_

The Huntmaster’s assistant continued from there. “You heard the Huntmaster. You’re competing for the last spot in the Great Hunt by taking down three bounties on Dromund Kaas.

"Hunting on Dromund Kaas? That's suicide." One of the other hunter’s present complained.

Smirking, Hessath replied. "If you're afraid to compete, the spaceports that way."

The Huntmaster’s assistant laughed. “Yes! That’s the spirit! For all you overblown, useless, no-talent cowards, we installed a handy exit door. Use it now.” A few of the other hunters left. Too afraid to cross the Imperials by hunting on their home world. When it was obvious that no one else was leaving, he continued. “The rest of you, the real hunters, go see your handlers. They’ll get you oriented to the planet and assign you three unique bounties. Everyone who takes down all three of their bounties wins a spot in the final melee. Anyone who doesn’t get all three, is out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I can't imagine that a Trandoshan's claws are all that clean, especially after traipsing around Hutta for any period of time. So, it really shouldn't be surprising that Hessath's wounds were super infected by the time they got to Dromund Kaas. And even if she had visited a med droid on Hutta, are you really willing to trust anything that comes from a planet controlled by Hutts? (⊙ˍ⊙)
> 
> And I figure that, unless you're an Imperial citizen, you're going to be paying for those med droids when on an Imperial planet.


	11. Chapter 11

They returned to Crysta, who was laughing. “A dozen cowards just scurried out of here. Probably won’t stop until Dromund Kaas is lightyears behind em.” She sobered up a bit. “You understand the basics, right? Three bounties, hardest targets on Dromund Kaas. Gotta bag all three to qualify for the final melee.”

Hessath nodded. “Sounds like what I signed up for. Best job in the galaxy.”

Crysta laughed again. “I like you. You’re even crazier than the rest of these hunters. Now, let’s see who your first target is...” Her eyes widened as she paused. All laughter drained from her voice. “Whoa. This can't be right. You got enemies among the Mandalorian’s or something?"

Hessath froze. Mako spoke up. "Just Tarro Blood, the Mandalorian who killed Braden. What did he do?"

"I wouldn't wish this bounty on anybody. Gotta play the hand you're dealt though. The target is a Republic noble named Altaca." Crysta continued to tell them about the target. “He got captured during an Imperial raid, brought back here and sold into slavery by accident. Altaca’s slave group was building a big ‘ol statue out in the jungle. The slaves rebelled and took over the site. Nobody can get in there. We don’t even know if he’s still alive. If he is, the family will pay big.”

Hessath’s brow rose. “The Hunt targets still pay?”

“Oh, you bet they do, sugar. Assuming you can find him, that is. The slaves have got a tent camp near that statue they never finished. If Altaca’s still kickin’, he’s probably somewhere in there. Oh, and before you go, meet your new best friend.” She handed her a piece of equipment. “This here is the S86k full-gauge carbonite armor upgrade. It’s too slow to shoot a fella while he’s springing around, but once that fella ain’t resisting anymore, say, after a good long beating, this will freeze him up for transport.”

“You know the way to a woman’s heart, Crysta. I do love getting new toys.”

Crysta laughed. “I expect you’ll have plenty of chances to play with it. Now you best hurry along and get that first bounty. I’ll have two others waiting for you when you get back.”

They set out for the set of coordinates that Crysta gave them for the site of the slave rebellion. It was deep in the jungle, outside of Kaas City. They ran across a few vine cats, which were easily dispersed. The Empire had a small camp set up outside of the slave rebellion area. As they slipped passed the edges of the camp, Hessath caught snippets of discussion about how to deal with the rebellion. She heard mentions of toxins, as well as mention of orders to simply go in to wipe out everything that moves. Frowning, she pulled Mako closer to her. “Stick close to me and keep your head down. This sounds like it’s heading for a breaking point. We don’t want to be here when it does.” She nodded, and Hessath released her, motioning for her to follow.

It wasn’t until they got to the tents that they really met much resistance. Most of the fools that were actively rebelling, were sticking closer to the Imperial's camp, trying to harass the forces that were stationed there. They had been able to slip into the depths of the camp unnoticed. But the main force of the slaves were at the tents. When they spotted Hessath and Mako, they grabbed any of the weapons they had obtained and brandished them angrily. A few were stupid enough to charge her with makeshift weapons. She knocked the weapons aside before knocking their heads together. As they fell back, she grabbed one of them and pulled his face close to her helmet. “Listen to me very carefully. I don’t give two shits about your little rebellion. It’s not why I’m here. I’m looking for one person. A man, named Altaca. He was brought here from the Republic.”

“I have nothing to say to you.” The slave spat at her.

She drew a blaster and shot him, pushing the body away from her. She grabbed the second slave and hauled him to his feet. “Same question. Where do I find Altaca?”

The man hesitated, glanced down at his fallen comrade. “You’ll leave once you have him?” At her nod, he slumped in her grasp. “He hasn’t been seen for a while now, but I can take you to where he slept.” She slowly released her hold on him. He turned to head deeper into the camp before turning to head for one of the tents toward the edge of the camp. “This is where he slept. Please, just take what you need and leave.”

She stepped into the tent and looked around. There was a bedroll that looked like it had been left in a hurry. One of the edges was wadded up rather conspicuously. Hessath reached for it, and was pleased to find a datapad buried under the corner of the bedroll. There was a single recording on the datapad, which Hessath was quick to play.

 _“My dear Altaca, when I got your message, I could scarcely believe it. We have found each other after all these years. It must have been the Force that brought you here to Dromund Kaas, dear Altaca. As for your predicament, fear not. I have friends in high places, and for the right price, they have agreed to help me. When the slaves attempt their pitiful revolution, a man will come to you, dressed in rags. He will bring you to me. I shall say you are my missing brother. We will be Lord and Lady Dak-Ah. I’m afraid I can’t get you offworld and back to your beloved family, but I promise to make your every moment here a joy. Our lifestyle will be the envy of all, and we’ll attend parties at the Nexus Room every night. Be ready to join me, my love.”_ The recording ended there.

“Wait, so the lady is his lover, but now he’s posing as her brother? That’s just disgusting.” Mako uttered.

“The Nexus Room, huh?” Hessath smiled. “Nice of the lady to tell me where to find my target. Where are we going, Mako?”

Mako pulled out her own datapad and typed the info in. “Here it is. Looks like the Nexus room is in an upper level of the cantina we passed as we were heading out of town. Well, that’s convenient, at least.”

“We’ve got what we need then. Let’s get out of here. I really don’t want to be here when the Empire has decided that they’ve had enough of this rebellion.” They left the camp quickly, blasters drawn and at the ready just in case the slaves decided to try to follow after them. Once they were outside of the camp itself, they edged passed the Imperial camp and made for Kaas City. Once there, they made for the cantina that they had seen earlier, in the center of the city.

They had taken the lift to one of the upper levels of the cantina, where the Nexus Room was supposed to be. As they stepped into the hall, they were met by a small group of Imperial soldiers. The leader stepped forward at her approach. “Bounty Hunter. I am Sergeant Wallax of the Imperial Navy. You are commanded to hand over all of your weapons and gear immediately.”

She crossed her arms. “You’re a funny man, Sergeant.” She responded dryly. “Think of that joke all by yourself?”

He sneered at her. “Don’t get cute, offworld scum. Remember, you’re an outsider here. I can shoot you just as easily as bring you in.”

She unfolded her arms at the threat, just as the Sergeant’s holo went off. When he picked it up, Mako let out a muffled curse. “Sergeant. Tarro Blood here. Have you completed my little errand yet?”

Mako couldn’t restrain herself. “Blood! You steaming pile of filth!” She reached for her blaster.

Hessath was reaching for her own blasters as the Sergeant swore. “Blast it! I told you not to call on this channel!”

Blood sighed. “Oh, this is getting ridiculously tiresome. She’s still alive? What is wrong with you, Sergeant?”

He growled. “Blood, I’ll talk to you later. Ignore the chatter men.” He shut off the holo. “Let’s take this hunter in.”

A few of the soldiers glanced at each other, shifting uncomfortably. One was bold enough to speak up. “I don’t know what’s going on here, Sarge, but I know it stinks. Either you cut us in on the deal, or we walk.”

Hessath shook her head. “You can’t spend credits if you’re dead.” She warned. Several of the men glanced at each other again before they walked away, practically leaving the Sergeant alone. She raised her blaster and aimed it at his face before he could reach for his own. “Whatever Blood promised you, it isn’t worth losing your life over. I suggest you follow your men and walk away.”

He paled at the blaster in his face. After a long moment, he surrendered with a sigh and started to move around her, slowly. She kept her blaster trained on him until he was in the lift before she let out a sigh of agitation. She holstered her blaster before entering the Nexus Room. As she looked around, she spotted her target with the woman from the holo recording they had found.

As Hessath approached the pair, the man turned to regard her. His face was rather bleak, a nearly hopeless look on his face. “Yes? May I help you with something?”

The woman’s lip curled in disgust. “Darling, please don’t speak to that filthy vagabond. It’s clearly not supposed to be here, and we shouldn’t let ourselves look like we approve. Come, let us get a drink.”

As they turned to go, Hessath barked out a retort. “Sure you want to walk away, Altaca?”

They paused for a moment before the woman spun around, her voice dropping to a hiss. “So, you know our little secret. What does an insignificant creature like you want? What would make you dare threaten a noble?”

Hessath scoffed. “The, uh, ‘lord’ here is wanted back at home.”

Altaca’s eyes widened as he turned to the woman. “You told me I was trapped here! That I would have to forget my family! That this…charade was the only way.”

The pair argued back and forth for a few minutes before the woman finally gave an exasperated huff. “Ugh. You can be such a whiny pain. It’s a wonder you’re nobility.” She turned to Hessath. “Let’s make a new deal, bounty hunter.”

“I’ve got other things to do. Make it fast.” She growled in response.

“I assume his family will pay less for a body. Here’s what I propose. Kill him, show me the slip, and I will compensate you the difference.”

Hessath rolled her eyes before she raised the arm that she had attached the S86k to, freezing the man. “I don’t like unnecessary work, and I have zero reason to kill him. Hard pass.” Without a glance back at the woman, as she cursed at Hessath, they took Altaca and returned to the enclave.

Crysta was pleased to see them. “Hey there, hunter. Competition out there is something crazy. Couple of hunters died in the jungles. Big Trandoshan got arrested by the Imperials.” She looked over at the frozen man they had with them, a bit of surprise filling her tone. “And you found yourselves an unfindable Republic noble. His family was plenty generous with their live bounty.” She pulled out her datapad and made the arrangements for the transfer of credits to Hessath’s account. Once that was done, she pulled up the next bounty. “Your second bounty’s a bit of a mystery. Apparently, whoever’s stackin’ the deck against you, is gonna keep on stackin’.”

“Whatever it is, we can handle it.” Hessath replied, not the least bit surprised.

Crysta chuckled. “I hope so. What I’ve got here is a classified, red-flag request from Imperial Command. No details, just flashy warnings and a contact: Admiral Fraabaal, Imperial Navy.” She handed her the tag. “Here’s the slip. Fraabaal’s in the city, not all that far of a stroll. Go get ‘em!”


	12. Chapter 12

They had to backtrack through the city, passing close to the cantina where they had caught their first target, before heading deeper into the city. They were passing into what was clearly a more militarized zone of the city before they arrived at the coordinates that was provided on the bounty slip. The office was tidied to the impossible standards of the Imperial Navy, and they, surprisingly, weren’t stopped as they entered, until they came to the admiral’s glorified secretary.

He appraised them, lip curling up in disgust before he spoke. “This is the office of Admiral Fraabaal of the Imperial Navy. Do you have business here?”

Hessath took her helmet off before leaning closer, her voice lowering. “Can’t I just be here to talk to you?”

His eyes widened at her appearance, clearly not expecting a woman under her helmet, and certainly not expecting her response. He stuttered. “Yes, well, um. Are you? Just here to talk to me?” He blinked as she raised a brow at him. “Oh, I see, you’re making fun of me.”

Mako snorted. “I can’t imagine why he’d think you were making fun of him and his big important desk.”

He cleared his throat. “Now. If you’ll excuse me, I’m very busy.” He tried to return his attention to his terminal. After a few moments of trying to ignore their presence, he sighed and looked at Hessath again. “What do you want?”

She rolled her eyes. “I have a job slip from your boss, moron.”

He frowned. “I really couldn’t care less what you…”

As he was starting to argue with her, the holo on his desk lit up. “What’s all that racket out there, soldier?”

He looked at the figure in relief. “There’s a quarrelsome individual here, Admiral.” He shot Hessath a nasty look. “Rather dirty, too.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Oh, I’ll show you dirty.” She growled.

“Quarrelsome?” The Admiral questioned before he started to yell at the man. “You’re as weak as you are stupid. I requested a mercenary from the Mandalorians. Send that person in immediately.”

He paled as the holo cut out before waving them to the door. Hessath smirked. “I bet you get a demerit for that, Lieutenant.” She didn’t give him a chance to respond before stepping into the Admiral’s office.

The Admiral turned to face her as she entered. He cut a striking figure, with red hair that was nearly as brilliant as her own, and a beard to match. He stood at attention as he appraised her. “I apologize if my secretary caused you grief. He is of low birth, and his intelligence reflects it.” He sighed. “I’m afraid many of our Imperial soldiers are hopeless with delicate tasks. This is, of course, why I hired a professional. I have every faith in the Mandalorian enclave’s ability to get things done discreetly.”

Hessath nodded. “It’s part of the contract. You want discreet, you got it.”

He nodded in approval before beginning to pace. “My daughter has become something of a liability to me. I want you to kill her.”

Her brow rose in surprise. “That’s something you don’t hear every day.”

“Then I’ll assume you’re newly arrived on Dromund Kaas.” He continued wryly. “Things work a bit differently here.” He resumed his pacing. “My daughter was born Force sensitive and trained to be a Sith. A great honor for our family. Unfortunately, my daughter’s master is Lord Grathan, a madman who is now disgraced in the eyes of the Dark Council. Unfortunately, the Sith manage their own affairs and there is nothing I can do to remove her from the situation. If Lord Grathan’s compound is raided and my daughter captured or killed, every member of her family will suffer. This is Sith politics. Lord Grathan is a paranoid madman. His compound is built to withstand a siege, but I expect that a lone infiltrator would take them by surprise. My daughter is somewhere inside the compound. Her name is Vereta. You will know her as she resembles me closely. Remember, discretion is essential. Do not let yourself be captured. Good luck.”

They left the admiral’s office and headed straight for the marketplace. Hessath hadn’t had much opportunity to go up against Force users, but she knew some of the basics. The first, was to shock their senses as much as possible. There wasn’t a good way to block their perception through the Force, but if you could limit the use of their other senses, it was a start. The second, was to drain their stamina with shock or poison. She already had poison darts, but she figured she would need some electro darts if she was going toe to toe with a Sith. The third, and probably most important, was to remember to always keep moving. You never wanted to get pinned down or backed into a corner when going against a lightsaber. Especially if you weren’t fully decked out in Beskar.

She managed to find a vendor with some of the additional items that they would need. She stocked up on electro darts and picked up a few different types of stun grenades. She made sure that they both had plenty of back up cells for their blasters, too. Once she was finally satisfied with their equipment, they headed back into the jungles outside of Kaas City. They had to go far deeper into the jungle than they had for their first bounty, out past an outpost known as ‘The Wall’. The Wall acted like a kind of barrier against the creatures from the deepest parts of Dromund Kaas’s jungles.

As the pair traveled, Hessath went over the things that she knew about fighting Force users with Mako. “And more than anything, Mako, I want you to stay back and just throw in whatever cover fire you can.”

“I got it, boss. I’ll leave most of it to you and watch our backs.” Once Hessath was finished, she fell silent. From there, Mako continued to work through whatever intel she could find. She would periodically add in another important tidbit she had found, as they walked, but it wasn’t until she came across the other bounties that she stopped in her tracks. “Wow.”

Hessath turned to face her. “Talk to me, Mako.”

She grinned. “Apparently, renegade Sith Lord followers rack up death marks like crazy. Lord Grathan’s got a lot of people that have prices on their heads.”

Hessath considered it for a moment before she smiled. “It’d be a shame to be in the neighborhood and just let all those bounties go to waste.” As they approached Grathan’s compound, Hessath frowned with how tight the security seemed to be around the perimeter. There weren’t any breaks in the wall surrounding the compound, except for a few gates, and the gates themselves were heavily guarded. They set themselves up near one of the gates, to watch for the guard rotation. When the rotation finally came, all but a few of the guards left. There was a gap of about fifteen minutes before the next guards showed up, relieving the few that had been left behind. The next shift change after that, didn’t come for another eight hours. When it finally came as well, the same pattern repeated. Hessath nudged Mako. “The next guard change will be when we go. Looks pretty consistent.”

When the next guard change came, the pattern remained the same. They gave it five minutes after the main force of the guards left, before moving in to quickly take out the remaining guards. They pulled the bodies with them into the bushes nearby, before slipping toward the interior of the compound. Mako stayed close behind her, letting her sharper senses lead the way. They had to stop and wait a few times as they moved along, waiting for one patrol or another to pass, before they finally made it to the main building of the compound. Once they were inside, they were met with a handful of men, leading to a quick firefight. Hessath stood guard while Mako checked the bioscans against any of the potential bounties. They managed to collect a couple right away.

From there, they moved through the building, searching for the Sith girl they had been sent after. They managed to snag a few more bounties along the way before they came to a control center of sorts, where they finally found her. She turned to face them, the put her hands on her hips, seemingly disappointed. “Oh, what have we here?” She sighed. “You’re not even a Mandalorian, are you?” She tsked. “When Lord Grathan’s spies said my father had contacted the Mandalorian enclave, I at least expected that they’d send a real, live, Mandalorian. I’m afraid I’m a tad disappointed.”

Hessath was wary as she kept her blasters at the ready, voice skeptical. “You knew your father wanted you killed?”

The girl laughed. “Of course. But really, how scary is that?” She stopped and tilted her head. “Wait, you don’t seriously think you can kill me? I mean, I’m Sith and you’re just….whatever you are.” She shrugged. “Then again, it makes sense. Why would you come here if you thought you’d die?” She laughed again. “Apparently my father isn’t the only one living in a dream world. You can’t kill a Sith, silly.”

Hessath rolled her eyes. “Bad idea to think you’re indestructible, little girl.”

She scoffed. “I certainly don’t believe that. A more powerful Sith could kill me, or a really lucky Jedi, I suppose. Perhaps a bomb. But not some random bounty hunter.” She drew her lightsaber finally.

Hessath raised her blasters. “Mako.” She growled. She caught Mako move back as she drew her own blaster. She fired off a pair of poison darts as she let loose with a hail of blaster fire. The girl deflected both of the toxic darts and most of the blaster bolts. One bolt made it through her defense and grazed her shoulder. She scowled at Hessath and leapt toward her. Hessath kept her eyes on the blade as she moved back. The girl landed right in front of her and swung the blade at her neck. Hessath brought up her arm, catching the blade on her bracer. The Sith’s eyes widened when the blade bounced off of her armor instead of slicing through it. Hessath took advantage of her surprise and hit her with an electro dart before moving out of range again. While she was stunned by the dart, Hessath hit her with a toxic dart, to start slowing her down. She tossed a stun grenade at her feet, the sound deafening, while the smoke from the grenade was disorienting. As the girl recovered her feet, Hessath kept up with a steady spray of blaster fire, getting more and more hits in as the toxic dart worked through her system and slowed her movements. Most of the hits were still grazing, nothing fatal. Hessath hit her with another electro dart and moved in, grabbing her hand holding the lightsaber before she could bring it to bear, and punching her in the gut, bringing the girl to her knees. She removed the lightsaber from her hand as she dropped and deactivated it.

The girl was shaking as she slumped on her knees, fighting the toxins in her system. “I…I lost? How? I…I can’t lose. I’m Sith.”

“Someone’s been filling your head with garbage, girlie.” Hessath said smugly. She was still holding one blaster ready, while the other had the end of the deactivated lightsaber aimed at the girl’s heart.

“I..I can’t die here. Not to some common bounty hunter.” She was breathing hard, her denial sending her into near hysterics. “Everything Lord Grathan told me was a lie. I…have I really been the one living in a dream world?”

Hessath considered the girl in front of her, and her father. She couldn’t believe that he really wanted her dead. She remembered that her own parents had died to give her a chance to live. She had a hard time believing that any parent would want their own child to die. With a sigh, she holstered her blaster and lifted the S86k up. “It’s time you and your father had a chat.”

The girl looked up with fear. “No! That’s worse!” She froze her in carbonite before she could protest any further.

She sighed again after the carbonite had set. “It’s going to be a real pain to get this hunk of ice back to the admiral.”

She wasn’t wrong, either. As they set out through the grounds of the compound, the noise from her intrusion had put the guards on alert. Since they weren’t able to be as stealthy, with the frozen Sith with them, they had to fight their way out of the compound. They made it back to The Wall before Hessath’d had enough. She haggled with one of the soldiers at the outpost, and with an exchange of more credits than she would have liked, they were able to rent a speeder to take the frozen Sith back to Kaas City. She had Mako wait outside the office. On her signal, she would follow her in with their frozen prisoner.

He looked at her expectantly when she entered his office. “Reports of the raid on Lord Grathan’s estate are pouring in. I trust you were successful in your endeavor? My daughter Vereta is…” He trailed off hesitantly.

“What’s the matter?” She growled. “Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts, now that the job is done?”

He ran his hand through his hair as he paced a few steps. “As soon as you left the premises, I realized my mistake. A mistake that would haunt me for the rest of my days.”

She snorted. “I had a feeling that was how it was going to be.” She sent the signal to Mako. As she entered with the frozen girl, she turned. “So, I made her into a fancy paperweight instead.”

He looked at her with shock before taking a closer look at the carbonite that was being pushed into his office. “Y-you froze her? Even after I was so specific in my directions?”

Hessath shrugged, her voice soft. “I know what it’s like to lose your family. I didn’t think that you truly wanted her dead. I figured if I made the wrong call, I could always kill her later.”

His shoulder sagged in relief. “You’ve done me a great service, hunter. She’s all I have left of her mother.”

“All that’s left is for us to settle up.” She reminded him, anxious to get back for her final target.

“Oh, of course.” He handed her the cred sticks. “Here is your writ and your fee. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need some time with my daughter.”

She flipped through the cred sticks quickly. “Pleasure doing business with you.” She turned and left the office without another word as the Admiral moved to start thawing his daughter.

They headed straight for the enclave. They’d had to waste time watching guard shifts at the compound, and Hessath was worried they were falling behind. Crysta was waiting for them. She handed Crysta the writ. “Second bounty is done. Just the one more, and I’m in the melee.”

Crysta smiled. “Right you are. Competition is heating up. That little green girl finished all her bounties. Heard she poisoned an Imperial Moff.” She scanned the writ. “Now, I ain’t allowed the details on whatever you were scrappin’ for Admiral Fraabaal, but it looks like it’s been dually scrapped. Nice payday, too.” She pulled out the next bounty. "Here we go, bounty three. I call it, someone’s got some serious hate for my hunter. Top secret, crazy red flag covered. This one’s for a Captain Medle in Imperial Intelligence. No other information. Stay careful. Get this one done, and don't get yourself dead in the process."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See notes at the end of the chapter for appropriate Mando'a translations. Credit for translations belongs to http://mandoa.org/

They didn’t have far to go, since the enclave was part of a set of spires in the center of Kaas City. The other two buildings were the Sith Sanctuary and Imperial Intelligence. As they entered the Intelligence building, they got several looks. She made sure to keep her hands away from her blasters as she walked, not wanting to spook the spies. The bounty itself had directions on where to go, as the Captain apparently didn’t want anyone to be overtly aware that he was the one she was coming to see. As she stepped into the office, a dark-skinned human male’s head shot up from the datapad he was focused on. “What the..? Oh, right. The bounty hunter. Glad you could make it.” He stood and leaned over his desk. “Are you nervous, hunter? Parked in the middle of Imperial Intelligence and all? I could say one word, touch one button, and you’d disappear, forever. Poof, gone, just like that. Nobody would even dare to ask what happened to you.”

She pulled her helmet off and took a step closer to him, before slamming her helmet down on his desk. She met his eyes with her own icy, steel gaze, daring him. “Go ahead. Say the word and see what happens.” He glanced down to see she had drawn her blaster with the hand not on her helmet and had it aimed at his heart.

He stood with a laugh. “Nicely done. I like you, hunter, I really do.” She holstered her blaster as he relaxed. He stepped around his desk, leaning against it as he spoke. “I never signed up for all this cloak and dagger stuff. I was a regular soldier. Then one day, I put together a covert op raid that went a little too well and bam, I’m in Imperial Intelligence.” He sighed as she simply raised a brow. “Look, what I’m saying, is that the stuff that goes on in these halls is insane. And all of it is crazy hush-hush. So what I’m going to tell you has to stay between us, got it?”

She nodded. “My price tag always includes the cost of discretion.”

He lowered his voice. “That’s good. Here’s the deal. There’s a huge ancient Sith temple on Dromund Kaas. Used to just sit there being scary. Now the place is crawling with Sith sorcery, and it’s been ordered a no-go zone for everyone. Naturally, we sent a team in. My commander led that team. Nobody came back. We can’t report any of them dead without reporting the mission, which puts me in a bind.”

She grimaced. “Why do I get the feeling I’m going to the temple?”

He chuckled. “Because you’ve got warrior instincts. Like me. If I can’t prove my commander’s dead, I can’t take over his spot, which means an ugly power vacuum. I’m hiring you to enter that temple and find the team’s ID cards, especially my commander’s. I need those ID tags to create more ‘acceptable’ deaths for them.”

She frowned. “And what if they’re still alive?”

He grimaced. “They’re not. And even if they are, they’re not. Got it?” She nodded. “Make sure you find an Imperial Commander named Gargun. Can’t imagine there will be more than one corpse in the temple wearing commander stripes. And make sure to keep this quiet.”

She nodded, reaching around him to grab her helmet off his desk. The move pressed her up against his chest. She heard his breath catch as she grabbed her helmet and pulled away. She turned before putting the helmet back on her head as she walked out of his office. He couldn’t help but watch the sway of her armored hips, suddenly wishing he was anywhere but the Intelligence building. It wasn’t everyday that you met a woman like her.

There was an Imperial outpost relatively close to the temple they were heading for. It seemed that, for as secret as everything with the temple was supposed to be, nobody was heeding the danger. Hessath stopped once they hit the outpost. She turned to Mako. “I want you to stay here.” She’d heard Mako muttering about something messing with her implant, the closer they had gotten to the outpost and, subsequently, the temple.

“What? Why?”

Hessath shook her head. “I don’t like this Force garbage. You’ve been muttering about interference with your implant for a while now.”

She argued back. “But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t come with you.”

Hessath pulled her helmet off to send her an icy glare. “Actually, it does. If there’s weird Force shit going on inside that temple, then I’m gonna want to be in and out as fast as I can. Moving fast, means snap decisions and generally means shooting first and asking questions later. You’re improving with every bounty, but you don’t have nearly the experience that I do.” As Mako started to back down, she let her expression soften. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, Mako. And I’ve got a seriously bad feeling about this place.”

Mako sighed. “Alright, you win.”

Hessath nodded. “Good. Remember that Blood’s people are probably still after us, so plant yourself in a defensible spot out of the way. I’ll be back soon.”

She put her helmet back on and set off toward the temple at a jog. The closer she got, the more she could feel the hairs on her body standing up. She came across a handful of men around the temple proper, but most of them ignored her, like they didn’t even realize she was there. A chill ran down her spine at the sensation that something was definitely wrong there. With a deep breath to steel her nerves, she ran into the temple, blasters drawn. She made a quick sweep of each room she came across. Most of the rooms were empty, or contained slaves. She left them be and moved on, searching for Imperial uniforms. She had swept dozens of smaller rooms when she felt a chill in the air. She muttered out a curse. “Haar’chak! Ibic dini’la!” She spat, not caring about letting Mando’a slip from her lips, as there was nobody around to care. The air felt heavier, the longer she was inside the temple and she was sure it wasn’t just her imagination. She resumed her search before finally coming across a handful of men in Imperial uniforms. She shot them without a second thought and moved to collect the tags. As she bent down to collect the commander’s tag, she felt a something slam into her chest. She dropped to a knee, gasping for breath. The sensation had moved through her and left her shivering. She shook herself off as she climbed to her feet and collected the rest of the tags. She counted them to make sure she had the right number before turning and running for the door to the temple as fast as she could.

There weren’t many things that scared her, but whatever Force mumbo-jumbo was going on in the temple, was enough to terrify her. As soon as she was outside, she swore to herself that she wouldn’t set foot anywhere near a Sith temple ever again. She ran for a while, wanting to put as much distance between herself and the temple as possible, before she finally slowed her pace. She didn’t relax until she was stepping into the Imperial outpost. She looked around before she spotted Mako stepping away from the corner of the medical tent.

Mako tilted her head to the side as she approached her. “How’d it go in there?”

Hessath fought the shiver that ran through her spine. “I got what we needed. I’m glad I left you here, though. That place was….not good.” She shook her head. “Let’s just go.” Instead of setting for the exit, she turned to the speeders, this time, not caring about the credits that it took to get her back to the entrance to Kaas City. The further away from the temple they got, the better she felt, and the more she calmed down. The temple had truly rattled her.

As they stepped into Medle’s office in the Intelligence building, he looked up with relief. “You got the ID’s?” At her nod, he sighed. “Excellent. Let me see.” He scanned through them. “That’s all of them, including Commander Gargun’s.” He set them on his desk as he stood, leaning over the desk. “What was it like, in the Dark Temple? I’ve yet to hear anything that didn’t sound like pure raving.

She shook her head. “You wouldn’t believe me about that place if I told you.”

“Huh.” He sighed, causing Hessath’s eyes to narrow. “Still wish I could have gone in myself. Would have saved me some unpleasantness.” He scoffed to himself. “Listen to me, ‘unpleasantness’. I’m even starting to talk like a spy.” He stepped around his desk. “Friend. Remember when I said Sith didn’t want anyone in the Dark Temple?”

Her hands lowered to her blasters. “I don’t like the way you’re talking, Captain.”

He sighed. “I wish there was another way to handle this, I really do. I can’t risk the Sith ever finding out you went into their precious Dark Temple, which means you’re now a liability.” He grimaced. “I apologize. This isn’t the way a fighting woman should die.” He raised his voice then. “Guards!”

She had her blasters up before the word dropped from his lips. She shot him once, dropping him to his knees, before turning to fire on the guards. Within a few shots, they were down. She had Mako move to the doorway to stand guard while she finished dealing with the captain.

"Heh, that went wrong, didn't it? Got a hole in my gut." The captain grunted in pain. "I'm not going to beg. Turning on someone who did their job is wrong, we both know it.” He gasped as he pulled the writ from his uniform. “Here's your writ. It tells the Mandalorians you did your job. And here’s your pay. The rest is up to you."

She took a knee in front of him, pulling off her helmet to meet his eyes. "Are you going to send more men after me?"

He let out a pained laugh. "To do what? Add to the body count? We both know there would be no point. How about a more concrete apology? I'll send you some top of the line gear when you leave. How does that sound?"

"I'm glad this didn't have to get personal." She stood then, still holding her helmet.

"It never was, believe me.” His tone softened as he ran his eyes up her form. “You're everything a woman should be. I wish I'd met you when I was still a man. Good hunting to you."

Hessath allowed a small smile to grace her lips. She nodded to the Captain then placed her helmet on her head as she turned around and left. The Captain remained on his knees, grimacing in pain as he waited long enough for her to leave before summoning a medic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haar'chak! - Damn it!  
> Ibic dini’la! - This is insane! (There is a bit of discrepancy for how this should actually be written. Per both the mando'a dictonary and Wookieepedia, the way it was written was gramatically more likely, as Mando'a tends to drop unnecessary articles. But it could have also been more literally 'Ibic cuyi dini'la!')
> 
> Okay friends! I do have an important note beyond just the translations. If you read any of my fics other than my Star Wars ones, you will have seen this already, but I want to make sure it's sitting everywhere. I am in the process of starting a new certification program, which is going to start taking up a lot of my time outside of work. This means that I expect writing is going to get put on the back burner for the next 6 months or so. I do have enough written that I still have a few chapters that I can post over the next couple of months, so you won't go completely without chapters, but they are going to be much longer between updates. It also means, that if I get all of those chapters posted before I'm done with my program, that you'll probably have some period of time where you will be chapter-less for a bit. I'm going to try to space them out enough that we hopefully never become chapter-less, but if we do get there, I apologize in advance. I still look forward to nerding out in the comments about your thoughts on the different chapters, but things will definitely slow down moving forward. My butt is a bit out of practice with the whole studying thing, so wish me luck. And of course, I hope you all continue to stay safe out there!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Internal thoughts are in italics. Any conversation that is in italics and underlined is spoken in a language other than basic or Mando'a.

When she returned to the enclave, she was surprised by Crysta’s relief. "You're alive! Some Mandalorian big shot named Tarro Blood said you were dead. They're about to start the Grand Melee without you! All the other hunters who survived are already inside. Hurry up and get in there!"

She ran for the hall, slowing as she entered and saw that the melee hadn’t started yet.

"...and the last hunter left standing joins the Great Hunt. Simple as that. All weapons are allowed, but you fight alone. No assistants. And it seems we have a latecomer!" The Huntmaster’s assistant Lek was going over the instructions for the melee when he spotted Hessath walking in.

She shrugged. "I just like to make a big entrance."

He laughed. "Coming back from the dead is a big entrance all right.” He looked up to a balcony. “Huntmaster, will you do us the honor?”

_ “Today, many hunters earn glory in death and defeat. One hunter earns eternal glory in victory. Good hunting to all!” _

She took her place as the Huntmaster growled out his words. The Mirialan that she stood by glanced over at her. “We all heard tales of your exploits, hunter. Perhaps I’ll turn them into a song to commemorate your death.”

Hessath snorted. “I’ll do the same. You prefer ballads, or war chants?”

The Mirialan growled at her. “I prefer to win.” She smirked at Hessath. “I’d wish you luck, but it wouldn’t help. So, I’ll just say goodbye.”

Lek called out to them. “Enough! You hunters are the best that the galaxy’s goons and thug lords could send us.” He stepped to the edge of the arena. “Now show us which one of you will join the Great Hunt. Fight!"

Hessath immediately picked the Mirialan as the most dangerous of her five opponents and moved to take her down first. She had to give her credit, she was faster than most of the others she had fought, but she caught her with an electro dart, stunning her before delivering the final blow. The only other human in the group tried to take her down while she was focused on the Mirialan, and fired at her. She spun, catching the bolts on her bracers, saving her own neck. She reflexively fired several bolts back at him, taking him down easily. While she had been occupied, a Trandoshan, a Rodian, and a Gamorrean had been having a three-way fight. As she turned, the Rodian fell, leaving the Trandoshan and the Gamorrean.

Almost as if in agreement, the Trandoshan turned on the Gamorrean at the same time that the Gamorrean charged her. She fired several shots at the charging swine, which he somehow managed to deflect with his axe, before the Trandoshan caught up with him from behind, ripping him apart with his claws. As the Gamorrean’s screams fell silent, the Trandoshan set his focus on Hessath. They circled each other in the arena for a moment, each appraising the other before the Trandoshan let out a hiss and charged her. A flash from her fight with Rarsk on Hutta came to mind, and her arms burned just from thinking about those claws. She leveled her flamethrower at the reptile and turned it on full blast. It wouldn’t last long like that, but it was enough to slow him. She swept around him, firing her blasters, muttering curses at the tough scaly hide on the Trandoshan, as her bolts were only occasionally hurting him.

As her flamethrower sputtered and finally died, she holstered her blasters and pulled her cortosis blades in a single, smooth motion. She ducked the first set of claws, pushing closer and ducking down under his arm, slashing across his side. As he spun, he swiped at her, and she could feel the claws rip through the back piece of her armor. She was afraid of that, since it was one of her oldest pieces currently. She hissed as she rolled away, feeling blood trickle down her back. He charged her one more time, and this time, she caught his claws on her bracer, shoving his other arm away from her with her opposite arm before bringing her hand back with the blade and driving it into his throat, pulling towards her to pull it free, severing his main artery. He fell away and struggled for a moment before falling still.

She stood there breathing hard for a long moment before she finally sheathed her blades. "The melee is over. One hunter remains." Lek exclaimed to the crowd. She raised her head to look at the crowd as they cheered. She held up a fist and the cheers grew louder. Lek stepped to her side before directing her out of the arena and into another room. Mako was at her side in an instant, fussing over her back as they moved.

"You put on quite a show hunter.” Lek congratulated her as they waited for the Huntmaster. “Blasted fun to watch. How do you feel?"

"I just stomped my competition into the dirt, I feel great." She smirked.

He laughed. "Enjoy it. Things only get tougher from here."

By then, the Huntmaster was joining them. _“Let the hunter stand before me. She is honored beyond all common hunters.”_ Hessath moved to stand before the Wookiee. _“Let it be known that…”_

A snide voice cut him off before he could continue. "This is simply ridiculous. I mean really, this needs to stop right now." Hessath turned to see one of the two people she wanted to kill most sauntering towards them. Tarro Blood.

Raising her blaster, Hessath couldn't contain the rage boiling in her blood. "You die scum." She growled.

"No! No unsanctioned kills in the Great Hunt!" Lek roared.

Hessath gritted her teeth and holstered her blaster as Tarro smirked at her and continued to speak. "You see? That’s a perfect example. I object to this farce. This ignorant thug does not deserve to enter the Great Hunt. Her credentials are a lie fabricated by her little gutter rat of a sidekick. She deserves no honors."

"We know this hunters history Blood. The Huntmaster has ruled." Lek frowned at him.

"You fools! This is a place of honor. A competition of elites. Mandalore will hear of this!” He stepped closer, trying to intimidate her as he leaned over her. “Before this Great Hunt is over, I will have your skull in my hands." Tarro spat before turning and sulking away.

Lek scoffed as Blood disappeared. “Well, the Great Hunt just got way more interesting. Sorry to interrupt, Huntmaster. Please continue.”

_ “The Great Hunt proves talent, resolve. Mandalore calls it to bring him the most skilled hunter in the galaxy. Each hunter will hunt the other’s prey. Then each hunter hunts the other. At the end, there is no prey and only one hunter.” _

“Your handler Crysta will fill you in on the rest of the details. She’s waiting for you.”

Hessath nodded at the dismissal and returned to Crysta. She was practically bouncing as she waited for the pair. “Hoooh! What a thrashing! The other handlers are all bug-eyed jealous you won.” She laughed for a few minutes before she sobered enough to give them the information they would need. “Now, on to the Great Hunt. I expect you want to hear about your targets.”

Hessath snorted. “That would be helpful, yeah.”

Crysta smirked at her. “Here’s how things are gonna work. First, you’re getting a starship.” She held up a hand to stop her reply. “It ain’t gonna be easy, but we’ll talk about that in a minute. On your ship’s computer, you’ll access two holorecordings, both with specific details on who and where to hunt. Each target will have another hunter gunning for them. You’ll have to take them out along with your target. Now, about your ship. There’s a tradition for new hunters. You gotta steal one for yourself. Now, let’s find you that perfect ship, yeah?” She pulled out a datapad and started scrolling. “Ah, here we go. I found one that belongs to one of them ‘importer’ types. Fast, smooth, and roomy.” She sent the details to Mako. “I’ll pull together your recordings for your targets and transmit them when you hit space. In the meantime, you should head to the spaceport and get your new ship.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends! I'm alive!  
> It's been right about a month since I posted on ANY fics, and since it has been the longest since I've posted for Hessath, she's the lucky winner to get an update. There isn't a ton of original content in this chapter, but the next will make up for it with almost entirely original content, so bear with me.  
> My class has certainly been kicking my butt. I am way too out of practice for studying. 😭😭 That being said, I think things are going well so far. I have had a few short breaks where I have done some small amounts of writing, more to give my poor brain a break than anything, so things are very slowly continuing along.  
> As always, I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy, and we'll see you in the comments!


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